Using a Grey Card

[tevo]

Can someone provide an in-depth TPF description of how to use a Grey card? I am noticing that my whites aren't always coming out as whites, which I assume is because of my white balance.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Buckster]

I simply shoot the first frame of a series with the gray card in it. Then, in post (Lightroom in my case), I use the white balance eyedropper on it to set my WB, then sync the rest of the photos to it.

I've also used it in the field to set the WB on my camera by pointing at it and filling the frame, taking a frame, then using that as a custom WB reference. Just remember to reset it later.

First Frame from shoot "Cristina":

 

[SCraig]

... Just remember to reset it later.

Yeah. VERY important. Ask me how many times I've forgotten to ;(

 

[jwbryson1]

Check out this link courtesy of Big Mike:

How to use a Grey Card ~ Mike Hodson Photography

 

[tevo]

Check out this link courtesy of Big Mike:

How to use a Grey Card ~ Mike Hodson Photography

Thanks very much!

 

[pgriz]

There are also other uses for a grey card. I've used it to understand the dynamic range of my camera. Doing this exercise, I was able to figure out that I have at most 4 stops on the low end, and five stops on the high end, useful information when you're trying to shoot a scene where the dynamic range exceeds what your camera can handle.

 

[Big Mike]

Keep in mind that there may be two issues here. Exposure and color temp...I'm not sure which one you're having issues with.

The link to my blog, show an example of how to use a grey card to get proper exposure. You can also use a grey card to set a custom WB because a grey card is color neutral....but you can use anything that is color neutral to set your WB.

 

[tevo]

Keep in mind that there may be two issues here. Exposure and color temp...I'm not sure which one you're having issues with.

The link to my blog, show an example of how to use a grey card to get proper exposure. You can also use a grey card to set a custom WB because a grey card is color neutral....but you can use anything that is color neutral to set your WB.

Properly exposing my photos isn't as much of an issue as (what I assume is ) color temp, because my whites aren't always white, etc

 

[cgipson1]

if your whites are yellowish, reddish, blue-ish or green-ish... it is probably a color temp / WB issue. If your whites are gray (like recent sushi rice!).. it is probably underexposed.... Just like if your blacks are grey... they are overexposed. Very common problems with whites and blacks, when they are the dominant shades/colors in a scene.

 

[Big Mike]

Well, if your whites are grey, then it's an exposure issue. If your whites are blue/yellow/red/green etc....then it's probably a WB issue.

Keep in mind that to get accurate color, you should first ensure accurate exposure. Because if you try to 'fix' your exposure, the color will change.

Getting accurate WB isn't too hard. Basically, all you have to do, is take a sample photo of a color neutral object (fill the frame if possible). Make sure it's in the same light as your subject will be. Then go into your menu and find where you can set your custom WB. The D7000 has several 'slots' for WB examples. So the first thing is to choose/edit a slot, it will then let your browse to the image you just took and choose it. Then back in the WB menu, you have to actually choose that slot to be the active one. Then, back in your shooting menu, choose the 'Pre' option for your WB. All the shots will then have that custom WB applied to them. In RAW, you can still change it later, but it's nice to have it set accurately.
Or, as mentioned above, you can just include the grey card (or WB target etc) in one of the shots. Then in LR, Bridge etc., you can just use your color picker on the target, then apply that setting to all the shots that were in the same light.

On a side note about setting a custom WB. I find that on the D7000, it's not very intuitive to set the custom WB...and a few other things as well. Every time I have a student with a D7000, they have trouble. It's because with many of the options, you have to find the menu item you want, you have to select it, then confirm it, before exiting the menu. If you don't confirm/OK, your selection, it doesn't take, and you have to go back and do it again. Messes me (and them) up every time.

 

[tevo]

Well, if your whites are grey, then it's an exposure issue. If your whites are blue/yellow/red/green etc....then it's probably a WB issue.

Keep in mind that to get accurate color, you should first ensure accurate exposure. Because if you try to 'fix' your exposure, the color will change.

Getting accurate WB isn't too hard. Basically, all you have to do, is take a sample photo of a color neutral object (fill the frame if possible). Make sure it's in the same light as your subject will be. Then go into your menu and find where you can set your custom WB. The D7000 has several 'slots' for WB examples. So the first thing is to choose/edit a slot, it will then let your browse to the image you just took and choose it. Then back in the WB menu, you have to actually choose that slot to be the active one. Then, back in your shooting menu, choose the 'Pre' option for your WB. All the shots will then have that custom WB applied to them. In RAW, you can still change it later, but it's nice to have it set accurately.
Or, as mentioned above, you can just include the grey card (or WB target etc) in one of the shots. Then in LR, Bridge etc., you can just use your color picker on the target, then apply that setting to all the shots that were in the same light.

On a side note about setting a custom WB. I find that on the D7000, it's not very intuitive to set the custom WB...and a few other things as well. Every time I have a student with a D7000, they have trouble. It's because with many of the options, you have to find the menu item you want, you have to select it, then confirm it, before exiting the menu. If you don't confirm/OK, your selection, it doesn't take, and you have to go back and do it again. Messes me (and them) up every time.

Hmmm, I'll dink around with that when I get home.