White balance question
Apr 21, 2014 06:13:50 #
I am using D7100 and I usualy keep wb in auto or cloudy then in post processing I change the setting to see if I want any other settings and am quite happy this way.
Apr 21, 2014 06:14:18 #
RMM wrote:
...when I have adjusted white balance in the camera before shooting, what I see in post-processing is closer to good lighting than when I haven't adjusted WB in the camera, and it's a little easier to finish the post-processing.
How do you adjust WB before shooting - one of the choices the camera has for WB?
Apr 21, 2014 06:23:21 #
Use a coffee filter to get your white balance perfect.
Turn off your auto focus.
Cover lens with "white" paper coffee filter. Take photo of you scene through the filter.
Go to cameras custom WB setting. Choose the image you have just taken, for your custom white balance.
Turn focus back on. Go about shooting.
If you want to look a little more professional. You can use an Expo disc, instead of a coffee filter. They cost about $100.
One thing to remember about WB, just because it is correct, doesn't mean it is right for your image.
BTW. lightroom 5 lets you paint WB settings in specific areas, for bad mixed light images.
Turn off your auto focus.
Cover lens with "white" paper coffee filter. Take photo of you scene through the filter.
Go to cameras custom WB setting. Choose the image you have just taken, for your custom white balance.
Turn focus back on. Go about shooting.
If you want to look a little more professional. You can use an Expo disc, instead of a coffee filter. They cost about $100.
One thing to remember about WB, just because it is correct, doesn't mean it is right for your image.
BTW. lightroom 5 lets you paint WB settings in specific areas, for bad mixed light images.
Apr 21, 2014 06:25:03 #
jcret wrote:
Two questions:
1. Any suggestions on getting more consistent results setting white balance using the D3000?
2. Would I have more WB options with a D7100 and would it perform better than the entry level D3000?
I appreciate any help that I can get.
Two questions:
1. Any suggestions on getting more consistent results setting white balance using the D3000?
2. Would I have more WB options with a D7100 and would it perform better than the entry level D3000?
I appreciate any help that I can get.
Mixed lighting is tough but the D7100 lets you select Kelvin color temperature to adjust white balance. The D3000 does not.
Apr 21, 2014 06:37:25 #
-You can try overpowering the ambient light with flash (if it's a small enough space)
-You can adjust the color of the most important part of the image and let the chips fall,where they may throughout the rest of the image.
-If you are using lightroom you can adjust color in areas selected with the adjustment brush or gradient tool. In other words, local adjustment. From what I've seen, NIK provides even greater control for local adjustment. This is tricky and can produce unnatural results unless done with restraint. On the other hand if the color temps of the various light sources are all over the map, the image is likely to look pretty unnatural anyway.
-You can adjust the color of the most important part of the image and let the chips fall,where they may throughout the rest of the image.
-If you are using lightroom you can adjust color in areas selected with the adjustment brush or gradient tool. In other words, local adjustment. From what I've seen, NIK provides even greater control for local adjustment. This is tricky and can produce unnatural results unless done with restraint. On the other hand if the color temps of the various light sources are all over the map, the image is likely to look pretty unnatural anyway.
Apr 21, 2014 06:58:02 #
Apr 21, 2014 07:00:54 #
I set the Kelvin (Choose Color Temp) for what my eye says the ambient lighting resembles. I then shoot something red (I have a red card - panel from a Kleenex box). If the image in the camera's viewing screen looks like the object then all is OK, if not I fine tune the Kelvin
Apr 21, 2014 07:17:12 #
jcret wrote:
I use with a Nikon D3000 camera, shoot raw and I a... (show quote)
1 - use a color checker passport - more accurate than a white or grey card, and not as inconvenient to use as an expodisk, especially if you use lenses with different front diameters. My lenses range from 62 to 160mm, so an Expodisk is out of the question. Besides, I will likely forget to reset the white balance when the light changes, or put it away with a custom setting and start using it again and forgot that it had a custom setting. ColorChecker Passport is as easy to use as a card, and more accurate, especially since you are shooting raw.
2 - since you are shooting raw, you don't need options.
Apr 21, 2014 07:35:15 #
Photofortytwo wrote:
Use a coffee filter to get your white balance perfect.
One thing to remember about WB, just because it is correct, doesn't mean it is right for your image.
One thing to remember about WB, just because it is correct, doesn't mean it is right for your image.
Very good point. Sometimes, correct isn't right.
Apr 21, 2014 07:41:29 #
TimS
Loc: GA
The other problem with indoor fluorescent lighting is that unless you are shooting at 1/60 sec in the USA OR 1/50 (not sure that speed even exists) in places that use 50 Hz power then you will get a different color cast with virtually every shot you take.
If you shoot at 1/60 sec then you get a complete cycle of the lights and will have a consistent color from that light source. As has already been pointed out, once you throw in another type of light source then you are just hosed.
One other solution is to use flash indoors set far above the ambient lighting so you don't have any light other than your light. You'll have to flag any sunlight, though.
If you shoot at 1/60 sec then you get a complete cycle of the lights and will have a consistent color from that light source. As has already been pointed out, once you throw in another type of light source then you are just hosed.
One other solution is to use flash indoors set far above the ambient lighting so you don't have any light other than your light. You'll have to flag any sunlight, though.
Apr 21, 2014 07:59:39 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Very good point. Sometimes, correct isn't right.
Correct is always right, though not always desirable. Creativity reigns and how a photographer interprets a scene with respect to color will always be easier to do when you start from a "correct" and accurate baseline. In particular, if you have a display that is not profiled, at least you can get accurate color if you use a white balance tool. It just won't look right on your display, but the prints will be neutral and on the money.
Apr 21, 2014 08:34:39 #
Try adjusting your while balance to ºK and see how much fun that is. You can get pretty close to neutral when shooting fluorescents if you use the Kelvin scale.
Apr 21, 2014 08:38:52 #
non-continuous spectrum lighting is always difficult, and ther are two components to neutral color - ºK and green-magenta tint - correct balance cannot be done with just one or the other.
Apr 21, 2014 08:50:28 #
I shoot with the D7100 and have no issues with white balance. When shooting in raw the camera is storing all of the digital info of the scene. However, the image on your cameras viewing screen will not match the raw image when opened in Photoshop. In raw you are telling your camera to disregard all of the normal calculations that it makes for a JPG and give you the raw info for you to correct in PS Camera RAW. You will have much more info in the raw file and potentially a much more detailed finished product. I also suggest getting into your manual and learn how to set custom white balances for special lighting situations. After editing your raw file you want to save it as a Tif file. JPG will compress it and you''' lose a lot of info.
Apr 21, 2014 08:52:04 #
Danilo wrote:
Mixed lighting will ALWAYS be a headache unless they are positioned in the same spot, bundled together. You may have a 5000K source providing highlights from one location, and a 3200K source giving fill-light from another location. You cannot white-balance for two different sources simultaneously, unfortunately.
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