Do you ever use a custom white balance?

[tecboy]

I feel like I don't need it. Do you?

 

[Rick50]

Not needed if you shoot in RAW which I do. That way I adjust WB for each photo as needed in Lightroom.

 

[Rick50]

What can help is to bring an 18% gray card and shoot it in the light so you can use the eyedrop tool in LR.

 

[snowbear]

I've tried it, but shooting raw, I don't think it matters. More often than not, I just pick the general category (daylight, shade, flash, etc) in Lightroom and it's close enough for me.

 

[paigew]

Yes I use it. I think it is absolutely necessary, especially if you shoot people.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JoeW]

Yes I use it. I think it is absolutely necessary, especially if you shoot people.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep. If you're shooting with a consistent light or setting (say...portraits in a studio) then to use something like a expo disc to determine an appropriate white balance setting just makes life a heckuva lot easier.

 

[fotomonkey]

I use it also. Why fix it in PS/LR later?

 

[shefjr]

Yes I use it. I think it is absolutely necessary, especially if you shoot people.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Could you further expand on why it is "absolutely necessary, especially if you shoot people." The absolute thing makes no sense to me. I was always under the impression that it isn't necessary if shot in raw. I could understand if the lighting was constant and the WB didn't change but otherwise it would seem to me like it would be a PIA to constantly have to adjust a WB with a card in a constantly changing situation. Say sunset.

 

[tirediron]

Always. The more you get right in-camera, the less time you have to spend at the computer in post. For instance, I know my studio lights are 5560K - why would I not set the WB to that so that the images are correct as shot? If I'm working outside I'll generally just use my Xrite colour checker passport so that I know what "correct" is.

 

[480sparky]

I usually do when I know exactly what the color temp of the lighting is. It's less work to set the WB to match it than to deal with it in post, even when shooting raw.

 

[fotomonkey]

I was always under the impression that it isn't necessary if shot in raw.

This is how I look at it. Do you try to nail your exposure? Why? You can change it later if you shoot raw, right?

Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you necessarily should. If nothing else there's a time consideration to make those post-processing adjustments. As others have said, the more you get right in the camera when you click the shutter the less you have to worry about adjusting later (whether that's WB, exposure, cropping, etc).

Unless the lighting is changing dramatically you can usually get away with shooting a custom WB as the situation dictates. It doesn't take that long.

 

[480sparky]

This is how I look at it. Do you try to nail your exposure? Why? You can change it later if you shoot raw, right?......

A poor comparison, IMHO. Exposure is very limited when it comes to correcting in post. WB, however, is completely changeable in post within the limits of the software. Exposure, not nearly as much.

 

[Rick50]

One of the most amazing things in photography is that you never stop learning. Always other viewpoints that have merit.

 

[Fred Berg]

I rarely set the WB myself even though I almost always shoot in jpeg. Perhaps I should but like the OP I don't really find it necessary most of the time.

 

[Ysarex]

I was always under the impression that it isn't necessary if shot in raw.

This is how I look at it. Do you try to nail your exposure?

Yes.

Why?

Because you get a "best" photo from a nailed exposure and if you botch the exposure you can't fix it later.

You can change it later if you shoot raw, right?

Wrong.

I do regularly use a custom WB, but I only have one custom WB that stays permanently set on my cameras -- UniWB. I use it as a backup check to make sure I'm nailing the exposure when the lighting is at all tricky. Here's a recent photo I took on a walk in the woods where I used my custom WB.

Joe