should snow be absolutly white?

[ratssass]

...should there be no color cast from surroundings,sunrise,sunset,trees (not shadows)?If you've set a custom WB should snow be absolute white?

 

[Josh66]

...should there be no color cast from surroundings,sunrise,sunset,trees (not shadows)?If you've set a custom WB should snow be absolute white?

The answer to the thread title is probably yes, but then you add variables.

Surroundings will obviously have an affect, but it's probably negligible.

edit
I'm mostly working from memory here - it's been a long time since I've seen snow, lol. I didn't always live in Texas though...

 

[ratssass]

...far enough,josh,but snow was just an example.lets say a pure white billboard next to cool blue pool in the sun.I'm thinking incidental (i hope that's the right term)reflection.should there be some blue colorcast,or should it be absolutely white?
...as a side note,the "beauty of snow" is far over-rated....lol

 

[pgriz]

No. Snow lit primarily by the blue sky will be blueish in tint. Snow lit by the setting sun will be orange-ish. Snow under overcast skies will usually be neutral. And snow after a dog passed by will be yellow.

 

[Josh66]

...far enough,josh,but snow was just an example.lets say a pure white billboard next to cool blue pool in the sun.I'm thinking incidental (i hope that's the right term)reflection.should there be some blue colorcast,or should it be absolutely white?
...as a side note,the "beauty of snow" is far over-rated....lol

In that example, I would expect some blue from the pool to reflect onto the billboard. How much "depends" - but no, the billboard would not be pure white. It may not even be enough to notice if the light is good.

 

[pixmedic]

not if someone has peed on it.

 

[ratssass]

thank you,all.does the same hold true for black? (the absence of light) say a black or near black
tire

 

[Josh66]

thank you,all.does the same hold true for black? (the absence of light) say a black or near black
tire

Yes, but black objects are typically pretty non-reflective. The same light is falling on the tire (or whatever) as the white truck (tire and truck just seemed like a good example that would have both colors). It's there, but you might not notice it.

 

[ratssass]

ok....so it's safe to say that from a light color on through to black, colorcast becomes less,correct?cripes,i don't mean to sound like a lawyer but am i on the right track with this?

 

[pgriz]

Agree with Josh. Since black absorbs, the tint of the ambient light will for the most part be difficult to distinguish, unless the surface has some reflective characteristic (like wet rubber).

 

[Josh66]

ok....so it's safe to say that from a light color on through to black, colorcast becomes less,correct?cripes,i don't mean to sound like a lawyer but am i on the right track with this?

Less noticeable, yes. It's still there - it's just your ability to detect it that changes.

 

[ratssass]

again,thank you,all.........carry on

 

[cowleystjames]

After a great night out, around here snow can be quite yellow in places. Lol

 

[SCraig]

White reflects all colors of the spectrum and absorbs none, that is true, however you also have to take into consideration the texture of the surface as far as a color cast goes. A glossy surface will have a much higher reflectance than a matte surface. Think of a black tire as opposed to one that has just been dressed with silicone tire dressing. One can almost see reflections in a dressed tire but never in a plain old dirty tire.

Snow is crystalline even though it has texture. As such it has a very high level of reflectance.

 

[480sparky38 37]

Yes. Snow should be absolutely pure white. Like this:
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Just like this. Pure white.