Struggling with white balance

[Cnschmidt]

hezcurves

I snapped this shot of my son in a hurry and didn't realize that I hadn't changed my white balance. It was too cold when I brought it up on my computer. I tried to just warm up the white balance, but everything I tried left the image looking weird. Almost too much yellow in the grass. My husband doesn't see anything wrong with this one, he says it's all in my head. I'll also add the original, cold version so you can see where we started. Any suggestions on how to fix the color would be greatly appreciated! I've never had this much trouble fixing something as simple as a slightly underexposed, off white balance before.

IMG_8554

Thanks!

 

[tirediron]

The original is definitely wayyy too cold, the second version is a bit too yellow/warm. This is perfect example of why one should shoot in raw; this would be a one-click fix. Assuming that you didn't (or you wouldn't be asking) shoot in raw, then it's going to be a matter of adjusting the saturation of the various colour channels to get the best possible result. I can't speak for Canon or other brands, but if you shoot Nikon, they do a VERY good job when set to auto WB in most conditions, and I would recommend leaving it there and shooting in raw.

 

[Cnschmidt]

Thank you! I did shoot in raw+jpg, but my computer crashed and while I'm waiting for my replacement, I only have my old laptop that runs Linux. It can't run photoshop or lightroom, so I've been using GIMP. Which can't read my raw files, apparently? I have a Canon and didn't have it set to auto, maybe I should have. I always manually set the wb because when I first got the camera, the auto tended to not come out right. But that also could have been because I was so new to DSLR's that I wasn't handling it right. I will try just putting it on auto next time.

 

[FITBMX]

The original is definitely wayyy too cold, the second version is a bit too yellow/warm. This is perfect example of why one should shoot in raw; this would be a one-click fix. Assuming that you didn't (or you wouldn't be asking) shoot in raw, then it's going to be a matter of adjusting the saturation of the various colour channels to get the best possible result. I can't speak for Canon or other brands, but if you shoot Nikon, they do a VERY good job when set to auto WB in most conditions, and I would recommend leaving it there and shooting in raw.

My Canon T3i seems to do a good job in auto WB, it only a little off sometimes. Normally in bad lighting situations.
But you are right, in RAW it is a simple fix.

 

[Cnschmidt]

I will definitely put it on auto white balance next time, then. I tried to bring the yellow down a bit..

hezzie

 

[Ysarex86 80]

Thank you! I did shoot in raw+jpg, but my computer crashed and while I'm waiting for my replacement, I only have my old laptop that runs Linux. It can't run photoshop or lightroom, so I've been using GIMP. Which can't read my raw files, apparently? I have a Canon and didn't have it set to auto, maybe I should have. I always manually set the wb because when I first got the camera, the auto tended to not come out right. But that also could have been because I was so new to DSLR's that I wasn't handling it right. I will try just putting it on auto next time.

If you do have the CR2 file you can process it on a Linux system no problem. Download and install Raw Therapee. GIMP can still be used then on a TIFF file you create with RT. I can help.

In the future shoot a WB reference. It only takes a moment and you can do it after you've taken the photo. I just carry a piece of white Styrofoam in my camera case that I cut from a grocery store food tray. You can buy a WB reference card but it won't work better than a piece of Styrofoam.

Repairing that JPEG you've got is rough -- especially in GIMP. I took at stab at it but.....ouch.

Joe

 

[Cnschmidt]

Thank you! I did shoot in raw+jpg, but my computer crashed and while I'm waiting for my replacement, I only have my old laptop that runs Linux. It can't run photoshop or lightroom, so I've been using GIMP. Which can't read my raw files, apparently? I have a Canon and didn't have it set to auto, maybe I should have. I always manually set the wb because when I first got the camera, the auto tended to not come out right. But that also could have been because I was so new to DSLR's that I wasn't handling it right. I will try just putting it on auto next time.

If you do have the CR2 file you can process it on a Linux system no problem. Download and install Raw Therapee. GIMP can still be used then on a TIFF file you create with RT. I can help.

In the future shoot a WB reference. It only takes a moment and you can do it after you've taken the photo. I just carry a piece of white Styrofoam in my camera case that I cut from a grocery store food tray. You can buy a WB reference card but it won't work better than a piece of Styrofoam.

View attachment 126497

Repairing that JPEG you've got is rough -- especially in GIMP. I took at stab at it but.....ouch.

View attachment 126498



Joe

Awesome! I had no idea. I will look up Raw Therapee! Thank you so much! I don'the know a whole lot about Linux, it'seems the computer my kids use for homeschool. I'mean also not super familiar with GIMP but a lot of the stuff was very similar to Photoshop, just in different places. I haven'the had trouble with GIMP on the images where they were just a hair light or dark or just needed a small pop, but with such a compromised image like this, I couldn'the get it to look right!

 

[Ysarex86 80]

Thank you! I did shoot in raw+jpg, but my computer crashed and while I'm waiting for my replacement, I only have my old laptop that runs Linux. It can't run photoshop or lightroom, so I've been using GIMP. Which can't read my raw files, apparently? I have a Canon and didn't have it set to auto, maybe I should have. I always manually set the wb because when I first got the camera, the auto tended to not come out right. But that also could have been because I was so new to DSLR's that I wasn't handling it right. I will try just putting it on auto next time.

If you do have the CR2 file you can process it on a Linux system no problem. Download and install Raw Therapee. GIMP can still be used then on a TIFF file you create with RT. I can help.

In the future shoot a WB reference. It only takes a moment and you can do it after you've taken the photo. I just carry a piece of white Styrofoam in my camera case that I cut from a grocery store food tray. You can buy a WB reference card but it won't work better than a piece of Styrofoam.

View attachment 126497

Repairing that JPEG you've got is rough -- especially in GIMP. I took at stab at it but.....ouch.

View attachment 126498



Joe

Awesome! I had no idea. I will look up Raw Therapee! Thank you so much! I don'the know a whole lot about Linux, it'seems the computer my kids use for homeschool. I'mean also not super familiar with GIMP but a lot of the stuff was very similar to Photoshop, just in different places. I haven'the had trouble with GIMP on the images where they were just a hair light or dark or just needed a small pop, but with such a compromised image like this, I couldn'the get it to look right!

RT can be a little daunting at first but it's good software. If you have trouble with it I can help.

Joe

 

[Cnschmidt]

Joe, do you edit in RT or just use it to export and convert, then use GIMP? I'm looking at RT now and getting ready to download. I am using Linux Mint and an older laptop. Will RT bog down the system? I had downloaded Lightzone, which is so similar to Lightroom, but it was way too heavy and the computer froze every time I tried to use it. (I am so ready for my new computer to get here but it's on back order and it could be weeks! *cries*)

 

[Ysarex86 80]

Joe, do you edit in RT or just use it to export and convert, then use GIMP? I'm looking at RT now and getting ready to download. I am using Linux Mint and an older laptop. Will RT bog down the system? I had downloaded Lightzone, which is so similar to Lightroom, but it was way too heavy and the computer froze every time I tried to use it. (I am so ready for my new computer to get here but it's on back order and it could be weeks! *cries*)

Not sure how RT versus LightZone will perform with your laptop. Good luck there. There is another option which is probably lighter weight, UFraw, but it is only a raw converter. RT is capable of doing most of what you need to do, but if you want to make some local adjustment you'll want to move to GIMP.

Joe

 

[Cnschmidt]

I can't find where to download it. The actual site, the format for Linux leads to a broken 404 page.

 

[Cnschmidt]

Not sure if that link worked. In case it didn't...

hezzie