How to get a warmer looking picture?

MckenzieMontague · Jul 24, 2006

I am trying to photograph people outdoors. I would like to achieve a warm soft look. How would I go about doing that? Do you recomend a gold reflector? Please see the following website for some examples on how I would like my photos to look.

http://www.crawfordsphotography.com/

Most of the outdoor photos have a really nice glow to them. I am open for any suggestions.

Torus34 · Jul 25, 2006

Film or digital?

ksmattfish · Jul 25, 2006

You could:

use a gold reflector
use a gold flash diffuser
use a warming filter
adjust your WB warmer
add the warmth in post-processing
shoot within an hour or so of sunrise or sunset (this is how I think they got the warm glow in the outdoor photos from the link you posted)

markc · Jul 25, 2006

I highly recommend shooting at "the golden hour" as the optimum way to get this. You tend to get more pleasing light overall, not just the color, but the other methods are decent ways to fake it.

MckenzieMontague · Jul 25, 2006

I use digital. Thank you so much for your help. I will keep these methods in mind.

Flash Harry · Jul 28, 2006

adjust colour balance in PS, add a touch of yellow, not too much though.

bitteraspects · Jul 28, 2006

easiest way to achieve a "warmer" look, is to set your white balance to "cloudy"

MckenzieMontague · Jul 28, 2006

Do I set my white balance to cloudy even if I am shooting in the evening? Thank you for your help.

ksmattfish · Jul 28, 2006

MckenzieMontague said:
Do I set my white balance to cloudy even if I am shooting in the evening? Thank you for your help.

Setting your wb to cloudy adds warmth, so you would probably use this technique to add warmth when the available light didn't have enough to your eye.

The lower the sun is in the sky, with some variation due to clouds, mountains, pollution, etc..., the warmer the direct sunlight will be, until it is extremely warm just before sunset (or just after sunrise). It's up to you to decide how warm is too warm, or not enough.