rcarol

Shooting mostly black and white is an incorrect assumption on your part. I shoot mostly in color but I post mostly in black-and-white.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I looked at the last color photo you posted. Garish and overblown is a “decision” you made. If you were a pro shooting a fashion show you wouldn’t make a “decision”, you would make sure your colors were accurate.

rcarol

That’s how I like my photos. I’m sorry you didn’t like it. Just move on.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Those who know the least about white balance are more likely to be nervous about what it's all about.

The more you learn about white balance the more likely you will be to agree with me.

Take a look at this paper on Basic White Balance. You might find something that will make your approach to photograaaphy easier.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Again missing the point. Like I said that’s your choice and it’s fine if you like it. This thread is about white balance. I was just addressing your assertion that it’s immaterial if you shoot raw.

rcarol

If this thread is about wb why did you chose to comment on anything other then the wb of my photos?

JD750 Loc: SoCal

First thank you for the paper. Well written, well illustrated, and informative, and I leaned from it.

Just an FYI, I am not nervous about WB. I have read a lot about it and I am always willing to read to learn more. I learned from you paper, thank you. Sometimes I will use artistic license and choose a different WB to intentionally insert or intensify a color cast. Other times I will try for accurate color. I did find it very inofrmative the examples in the paper using Daylight WB. I often do my own experiments to see the effects of different settings, but that is one I have not done.

Regarding JPG vs raw I shoot a lot of JPG. I shoot a lot, I try to shoot every day. I don't want 50 MB raw files of all shots, I don't need raw files of my grand kids with dirt on their faces. LOL. I do shoot raw when I feel it makes sense.

Having said all that, I just did an experiment. I shot an outdoor scene with AWB and with Tungsten WB, both raw and jpg. Pulled them all into LR and they pretty much look the same. The incorrect WB images are quite blue on both JPG and raw pics. Having to adjust for incorrect WB is a PIA. So that is why I want the WB to be correct in camera shooting raw or JPG. I recently had to do that for multiple pics I took at a party. Not fun and I don't see any difference in the difficulty of adjusting incorrect raw WB vs incorrect JPG WB. Maybe I'm missing something?

Again thank you for the informative article.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

White balance and ICC color management are the complementary keys to getting the results you want from your lab or home printer. One without the other is a wasteful game.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Are you really that dense. If you follow the arc of the thread it should be clear.

rcarol

When all else fails resort to insults. Good for you. Well done.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

The failure is your lack of comprehension. White balance is never immaterial. How often do you change the white balance when editing a raw file? I’m guessing rarely. I shoot raw and rarely need to change white balance. That’s because when you shoot raw whatever WB setting you have is saved with the metadata and when the image is displayed in the editor that’s the color temperature you see. Yes, you have a lot of leeway when adjusting the WB in raw, but when color accuracy is important you better have a pretty good idea what the actual color temperature of the lighting was.

rcarol

Unless you carry a Kelvin meter with you when you’re taking the photo, you have absolutely no idea what the light is really like. Many years ago, when I was shooting models on the runway, I used a colorimeter to measure the Kelvin temperature because there was no way of determining using the eyeball. That was in the film days when you had to get it right in the camera..

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

You are welcome.

Almost everyone leaves their camera's WB set to Auto and they are not wrong to do that. It usually comes up with something very close to the right WB setting, often so close that they don't see any need to adjust it on the computer.

My preference is to leave it on Daylight whenever I am out of doors, regardless of the weather, day or night. It is a reminder of the actual color of the light and I seldom see any need to second guess it on the computer.

Inside, artificial light and mixed lighting can vary so much that I just resort to Auto WB.

If I find that the camera setting looks wrong, the first thing I try is Capture One's auto adjustment to the WB. I assume Lightroom has the same feature. That will at least get the tint sorted out. If it's still not right, I'll move the temperature slider. Looking for a neutral target to click on is my last resort because it's usually the least precise way to get where I want to be.

The biggest mistake that people make is to assume that a gray target will lead them to an "accurate" WB. Since the most difficult cases involve different light sources, "accurate" is an unattainable goal.