Manually Set White Balance for Weddings?

[Tbini87]

Hey guys,
are you using the grey card to snap off a shot just to reference later when post processing? It sounds like you can make adjustments in the camera to set a custom WB, or you could use the image with the grey card as a starting point when editing. Is this just preference of the photographer?

 

[fudsylow]

Hey guys,
are you using the grey card to snap off a shot just to reference later when post processing? It sounds like you can make adjustments in the camera to set a custom WB, or you could use the image with the grey card as a starting point when editing. Is this just preference of the photographer?

Snap off a reference image and shoot in RAW sunlight mode all day. Then batch correct with about 5 mouse clicks in Adobe Raw converter (or lightroom) in post... simple. easy. and sometimes fun if you use a different colour cast later on !
This helps too.. perfect example of not having to do a custom white balance...
You are in church, different lighting (stainglass colour casts, fluro and incandesent bulbs all burning with sunlight streaming through skylights..), and you snap a flowergirl being really cute in awkward lighting...
My way... shoot the girl when she is cute... go over and snap off the (in my case WHIBAL) grey card or reference thingy you have... done.
Setting a custom white balance to shoot the girl in that light.. fiddly.. messy... fraught with dial fiddling delays... which you can't afford, so you don't miss the next moment..

 

[onedayillknowbetter]

White Balance is one of the touchiest things when editing photos, I've found. It really sets the professionals apart from the amateurs, in my opinion. I have gone back and forth between manual white balance and auto a few times, and right now I'm shooting RAW auto WB. I edit in Lightroom, and usually just select all the photos taken in the same settting/with the same light, and sync the WB settings to those. When I get to a new setting while editing, I do the same, and so on. I've found that it works pretty well. Each individual image might need one or two degrees adjustment, but all in all, it saves time for me in the end.

I'm not sure your experience level, but if you have the opportunity to work in a color darkroom [again], I definitely recommend taking it. It might be a little costly, but consider it an investment for the long term! Seriously, holding the gels in front of prints to see what needs to be corrected totally makes it easier to recognize the issue on a computer screen. Again, just my opinion, but something I have found extremely valuable.