white balance problem

[hanna-_-]

hey everyone

am tryin to set the WB manually to get better pictures

so i took a pic of a white card on a white paper

& used it to set my white balance

well now my pictures color got better

but still not a good photography

am aiming for the best skin tone color i can get

tryin to avoid too redish , yellow , or green

btw my camera is Canon 400d ( rebel XTi)

am lovin it but the WB is drivin me crazy

can anyone help plz?

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Shoot in RAW mode (not JPEG). Then you can adjust the WB when you have the image on your computer.

 

[hanna-_-]

ok thx alot am gona try to shoot in Raw

also can anyone tell me what is the best way to set the WB

or is the way i set my WB fine?

 

[Digital Matt]

If you are going to shoot in raw, you'll fine tune the WB afterwards on your computer. For me, I set the color temp of my camera manually to 5600k (daylight), for most things. If I'm shooting under tungsten or florescent lighting, I set the white balance accordingly. It always needs fine tuning however, and raw is the best method for doing this.

 

[hanna-_-]

ok so i set it to RAW

i didn't like how the picture turn

its just blaah

should i shoot in daylight mode?

 

[WDodd]

Matt would you lose anything by shooting in auto WB and then just adjusting it later? Shooting in RAW of course.

 

[Big Mike]

Matt would you lose anything by shooting in auto WB and then just adjusting it later? Shooting in RAW of course.

No, you certainly don't loose anything.

ok so i set it to RAW
i didn't like how the picture turn
its just blaah
should i shoot in daylight mode?

You have to realize that when you shoot in JPEG, the camera processes the image and adds sharpness, saturation etc. and locks in the WB.
However, when you shoot in RAW, the camera doesn't do any of that...which means that you get the image in it's 'raw' form. This does mean that you need to do some of these things yourself but it gives you the best quality and the most control over your image. It's not something that you learn in a few minutes...so stick with it and practice.

 

[Digital Matt]

Will, I'm just not always totally happy with AWB, so I prefer to make the change on camera, and get it as close as possible.

 

[Big Mike]

I sometimes find that AWB isn't perfect...but I'm shooting in RAW anyway...so it's an easy fix.

 

[khairuljohari]

i have the 400d too.. same problem. i notice the awb is sucks.. even the mwb.. i dont know why

 

[sincere]

While we at it, just RAW or RAW+L(with the quartercirle)?

Matt, but why does the WB matter when i shoot RAW? I can always set the white balance afterwards,right? Or does it still make a difference?

 

[Big Mike]

While we at it, just RAW or RAW+L(with the quartercirle

If you have the RAW file...why would you also need a large JPEG? It just takes up more memory card space (IMO).

Yes, you can adjust the WB afterward...but there is something to be said about having it set accurately when shooting...that way you don't have to worry about figuring out afterward (even if it is easy). Also, AWB can be inconsistent. If you set it manually, it's consistent throughout a whole shoot. In which case, you can make adjustments to one image and then apply those adjustments to the whole set, knowing that it will be the same for all the images.
Sorry, I should stop answering questions directed to Matt :er:

 

[Digital Matt]

It's all good Mike. You pretty much summed it up.

 

[sincere]

So because AWB can be incosistent, what setting would you recommend for shooting in a studio enviroment? If there also isnt one solutiuon to this, how do i determine what the appropriate setting would be? A white on white shot?

 

[Big Mike]

In a studio setting, you could set it to your lights or certain light temp. To set it manually, you usually take a photo of something white and use that image to set the custom WB. (check your manual).