Proper white balance techniques?

photogod88 · Oct 1, 2012

How do I master custom white balance I find that my shots never have true colors or distorted exposure tones. Before digital everything was shot right on camera I hate the thought of post production. How do I adapt to the demands of digital photography.

Big Mike · Oct 1, 2012

Get yourself a grey card or white balance target. Take a photo of it, in the same light as your subject. Then (following the user manual's instructions) use that photo to calibrate your custom white balance setting.

Derrel · Oct 1, 2012

Use a white terrycloth washcloth or small hand towel as a WB target. Or a gray one. I'm not kidding! Take a Custom WB shot in late-afternoon light about 2 to 3 hours before sunset, in an open, shade area, and set that as Custom White Balance #1, if your camera allows. TRY that sometimes in the afternoon and early morning hours as a Go-TO pre-set. Especially if you shoot a lot in the same general location or area at those times.

If you are unsure of how to do the above,as with so,so many things, RTFM...read the fine manual, to learn how to set a Custom White Balance pre-set.

The_Traveler · Oct 1, 2012

photogod88 said:
Before digital everything was shot right on camera

No it wasn't.
Pictures from the average photographer looked like crap - on the average.

photogod88 said:
I hate the thought of post production. How do I adapt to the demands of digital photography.

I can't think of a single technique, except perhaps polaroid, that doesn't require post-processing.
What do you think that labs did when you sent the film off?

Well, you can leave your camera sent at default setting, set your jpeg settings to average, all the time not thinking of them as post-production - which they are - and shoot only SOOC.

Of course, you'll lose 80% of the capacity of the digital image.

480sparky · Oct 1, 2012

Wanting to 'nail' WB dead-on basically demands some post work. Even when I shoot using a Custom WB set by using my ExpoDisc, sometimes I find the WB is still not quite what I wanted. Since I shoot raw, PP is part n parcel of the process anyway, so changing WB in post is easy.

Post work is going to end up being a part of your life if you truly want to make the images the way you intend them to be. Live with it.

In the meantime, learn what your camera is able to do in terms of setting Custom WB. If it doesn't, find out what settings it does have built into it and learn to use those instead of Auto.

photogod88 · Oct 1, 2012

I tried white valence one time and it is green and it won't change back

MK3Brent · Oct 1, 2012

It's so easy to change in DDR, so unless I'm dying to see what it will look like in camera while shooting... I'll leave it on Auto. Once I know my correct temperature, I'll select all and synchronize WB. Easy peasy. (shooting RAW that is.)

Graystar · Oct 1, 2012

You don't say what kind of camera you have. The custom white balance process differs between brands.

I carry a white-balance reference in my back pocket. It's a plastic card, 4" x 6" and about 3mm thick so it's sturdy. It made by RMI and it's called the Digital Gray Card (although it's not sold for exposure...only for white balance.) I have a Nikon and setting a custom white balance is very easy. I just hold down my WB button for two seconds, whip out the card and face it toward the primary light source, frame the card in the camera, and press the shutter...done. It only takes a few seconds, so I do it any time I step into new light.

I find that a custom white balance always looks better than one of the standard settings, and better than trying to set it myself in post-processing. The eye is a fairly poor calibration tool...if it was a good calibration tool then we wouldn't need to buy hardware to calibrate our monitors.

Here's a link to the gray card I used...
Digital Gray Card

table1349 · Oct 1, 2012

Understanding White Balance

WhiBal White Balance Gray Card Video Tutorial by Michael Tapes

480sparky · Oct 1, 2012

In addition... if you're that picky about WB, you'll need to calibrate your monitor.

fjrabon · Oct 1, 2012

use an ExpoDisc, it's not perfect, but its as close to perfect as you'll get in camera. It really will only be off if your lighting changed between when you white balanced and when you shot (or if you didn't point your camera in the general direction you were shooting when you white balanced).

Once you go expodisc, you never go back. ExpoDiscs and baseplate screw in straps are the two accessories that I couldn't live without any more.

jhodges10 · Oct 2, 2012

Two questions:

1) are expo discs worth the added expense? My local camera shop wants $100 for the expo disc vs $10 for a set of white & gray cards.

2) In what instance do I use the white card? The gray card?

I saw the link to a tutorial but I'm on an iPad and it required flash.

. Thanks!

photogod88 · Oct 2, 2012

Graystar said:
You don't say what kind of camera you have. The custom white balance process differs between brands.

I carry a white-balance reference in my back pocket. It's a plastic card, 4" x 6" and about 3mm thick so it's sturdy. It made by RMI and it's called the Digital Gray Card (although it's not sold for exposure...only for white balance.) I have a Nikon and setting a custom white balance is very easy. I just hold down my WB button for two seconds, whip out the card and face it toward the primary light source, frame the card in the camera, and press the shutter...done. It only takes a few seconds, so I do it any time I step into new light.

I find that a custom white balance always looks better than one of the standard settings, and better than trying to set it myself in post-processing. The eye is a fairly poor calibration tool...if it was a good calibration tool then we wouldn't need to buy hardware to calibrate our monitors.

Here's a link to the gray card I used...
Digital Gray Card

I use a canon 5d mark 2

MLeeK · Oct 2, 2012

What kind of lighting are you shooting in when you are having these problems?

Buckster · Oct 2, 2012

fjrabon said:
use an ExpoDisc, it's not perfect, but its as close to perfect as you'll get in camera. It really will only be off if your lighting changed between when you white balanced and when you shot (or if you didn't point your camera in the general direction you were shooting when you white balanced).

Once you go expodisc, you never go back. ExpoDiscs and baseplate screw in straps are the two accessories that I couldn't live without any more.

Funny, I tried both and went back on both. Expodisc got sold after several uses and I went back to my favorite WB tool:
http://www.amazon.com/PhotoVision-D...TF8&qid=1349226815&sr=1-3&keywords=Ezybalance

Baseplate screw in strap is now attached to the strap lug on the left side of my camera, where I find it more comfortable to work with, and better for getting my camera bodies quickly onto my tripods.

But to each his own.