Set up custom white balance

[davholla]

I am thinking of doing this to make sure that my macro flash has the right white balance.

I think I know what to do but, how do I get the reference white colour? Can I use something like an envelope or should it be something else?

Or do I have to buy something?

 

[RVT1K]

I've not tried this yet but....

My camera manual calls out either a neutral grey or white target. I would lean towards buying a target made for this but experimenting with using an envelope may work just as well.

 

[Designer]

Or do I have to buy something?

Yes, you have to buy a sandwich. Don't get ketchup on the white styrofoam box lid. Or if you happen to have a white styrofoam plate, those will work, too.

 

[zulu42]

This wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I actually painted the entire interior of my house in a neutral gray, so I will always have a wb target in any interior shot.

 

[zombiesniper]

When I started using studio lighting I didn’t have a neutral grey card so I went to the paint section of the hardware store and grabbed one of the paint swatches with tree or four shades of medium to light grey. Worked perfectly and I still have it a couple of years later.
Easy and free. You can’t beat that. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tirediron]

I've bought pretty much every WB tool known to man from EXPO Discs to a multitude of targets. The ONLY time I use them now is when I need an exact, consistent WB over a range of conditions (product for on-line sale). Otherwise, I shoot raw, do a rough WB by picking a white target in the scene, and adjusting by eye 'til I like it.

 

[smoke665]

Technically for color 18% gray is the ideal target, but all the above mentioned work also. However, I suspect I'd have a hard time convincing my wife to paint all the walls gray like @zulu42 suggested. LOL

 

[JBPhotog]

The most accurate way to obtain a truly neutral WB is to use a known target. Paper, cloth, paint and ink pigments can fluoresce under flash illumination if you just grab what you think may be a neutral grey or white. Of course your need for accuracy depends on your needs and desires and if a client is actually paying you for authentically representing the subject.

There are a host of WB target products to choose from, if you want accuracy, pick one and use it consistently. Some people like the Colour Checker Passport since it is portable and comes in it's own protective case and also lets you create camera profiles. Keep in mind that many WB targets will fade or shift to a bias if exposed to light over time, IIRC Kodak used to date their grey cards so one knew how long it was in service.

 

[Photo Lady]

I am thinking of doing this to make sure that my macro flash has the right white balance.

I think I know what to do but, how do I get the reference white colour? Can I use something like an envelope or should it be something else?

Or do I have to buy something?

 

[Derrel]

Back in my Fuji S2 Pro days when I was shooting a lot in jpeg mode I took a custom white balance in the backyard around 4 p.m. in the summer months and I had great success with that. Our house was located at the very foot of a very large Hill covered with Douglas fir trees so there was a lot of green in the ambient light.

One unusual white balance target that I used to use was white clouds in the sky, thrown well out of focus.

I now very seldom take a custom white balance, but often input known Kelvin readings.

Back in the early 2000s, before Raw capture was Universal, there was a lot of attention paid to white balance issues, targets, and methodologies. Now with the increase in sophistication in image processing software and the more near-universal acceptance of shooting in raw, there is a lot less attention paid to the subject. My experience is that a custom white balance can greatly improve your results based upon the actual shooting environment. When I say large hill covered with fir trees, I mean about a two thousand acre forested range, not just a 40 by 50 Foot Hill. I remember one UK fellow whose neighborhood white balance experiments inspired my own. He took different white balance settings at different times of the day and I found that in June,July,August , and September,in my neighborhood, that a reading taken around 4 p.m. off of a neutral white Target gave outstanding results throughout much of the day, but the last hour of the day I was better off using the S2 Pro's automatic white balance setting.

 

[adamhiram]

Or do I have to buy something?

Yes, you have to buy a sandwich. Don't get ketchup on the white styrofoam box lid. Or if you happen to have a white styrofoam plate, those will work, too.

This was some of the best advice I have gotten on this forum. White styrofoam plates seem to be a better reference than any gray/white card I have used, and I have quite a few of them. Here's a 21-pack for less than $2.

Here is a similar thread from 2017 where I asked the same question and received the same great advice from @Ysarex and @tirediron.

If you don't have a good white balance reference in your shot, this is the technique I use most often.

 

[Designer]

Here's a 21-pack for less than $2.

The best part of that deal is that you still have 20 more plates to use as plates!

 

[mrca]

When I need precise white balance, I do a custom wb for each lighting set up, then take a photo of the color checker passport. Then incident meter the shot to nail exposure. When a bride spends days selecting the color of the bridesmaids dresses, they have to be right. When not taking as much time, use a pop out white/18% gray target to do custom white balance and sometimes include that in the first shot so can click on it in post to set wb. Of course, have a calibrated monitor. I use a IOne studio to set monitor brightness and calibrate it then use it to create custom profiles for each paper and printer combination. That work flow nails color and I rarely bother with a test print unless I am printing in the 20+ inch size and then it's an 8x10 with 2 5x7 images, one for brightness/ color the other a crop from a section of an image at print size to check sharpening. I try to do an exercise every november shooting as much b&w for my personal work as possible and also use both b&w and color negative film which has it's own color palette. Amazing how little post is needed shooting film. Yes, those were the days.

 

[davholla]

Thank you all, in the UK our sandwiches don't come in the right shade of white - but I do have some plastic plates I can use.

 

[photoflyer]

The inside cover of a third party manual for one of my Canon's (written by Taylor?) had a fold out on the cover that was neutral grey and was intended for this. I have used it with good results. For indoor light's (think gym) use anti flicker or shots will be inconsistent.