White Balance Bracketing (What's it good for?)

[o hey tyler]

Okay, so I've been trying to figure out what a good use of WB bracketing is. My T1i had it, and I never used it for anything. And as I've been going though my 5D's settings, I noticed it again. But I can't find where it would lead for a practical application, unless you're shooting in mixed lighting conditions, and willing to layer the shots with the different white balances of the lights? But even then, that doesn't seem like it would make for a realistic looking photo.

Does anyone have any insight into WB bracketing, or perhaps some practical uses of the feature/example photos?

Danke schön!

 

[LightSpeed]

Perhaps use it a couple of times in testing? You might answer your own question? Maybe?

 

[o hey tyler]

Perhaps use it a couple of times in testing? You might answer your own question? Maybe?

No, I can't. Can YOU answer my question? That's why I asked it.

I also did a search for white balance bracketing, but it came up with a bunch of unrelated threads (or at least that's how it looked)

 

[LightSpeed]

Perhaps use it a couple of times in testing? You might answer your own question? Maybe?

No, I can't. Can YOU answer my question? That's why I asked it.

I also did a search for white balance bracketing, but it came up with a bunch of unrelated threads (or at least that's how it looked)

Ok, I will try. Let me see. Since this is bracketing, I might think that it's the same concept as any other bracketing. Might it provide a way of dealing with mixed lighting by having the camera make several images with different white points for one exposure?

 

[o hey tyler]

Yes, that would be my guess as well. I just would like to see an image of the technique in use so that I can understand it better, or perhaps a description of the workflow involved to compensate for different light temperatures, as merging to HDR in photoshop would most likely render bad results.

 

[LightSpeed]

You could always find a subject and try it. I would think that would give your best answer.

 

[Overread35]

Any chance that its a feature aimed more at JPEG shooters than RAW shooters? Thus the white balance bracketing for when the lighting is confusing and a single auto setting (in jpeg mode) might give a poor result - thus giving the shooter options to choose from. As opposed to RAW when you can adjust the white balance after the shot?

 

[o hey tyler]

Any chance that its a feature aimed more at JPEG shooters than RAW shooters? Thus the white balance bracketing for when the lighting is confusing and a single auto setting (in jpeg mode) might give a poor result - thus giving the shooter options to choose from. As opposed to RAW when you can adjust the white balance after the shot?

Perhaps that is what it is for. I was doing a little research on it and I found that if you primarily use RAW, it negated the reason to do any kind of WB bracketing. But if you wanted to get the right WB, wouldn't you just set a custom WB with a grey card?

 

[Overread35]

True, but if you were in a situation with rapid changes in lighting custom white balance might end up being ineffective after one or two shots - thus the bracket mode for faster shooting. It's also possible that its a mode intended for simpler users rather than advanced users - custom white balance being an "advanced" method whilst the bracket mode is usable for a lighter user who might not know how to best control/work with white balance, but wants to vary the control in tricky lighting.

 

[sobolik]

One reason and one reason only that I can see. For those who intend to print with out any post processing. Pick the best one and print it.

 

[shaunly]

One reason and one reason only that I can see. For those who intend to print with out any post processing. Pick the best one and print it.

I was just about to say that too. Since Canon camera has that direct print button. Other than that, I think it's pretty useless and a waste of space. Your better off just shooting in RAW and get much more control over your image.

 

[Josh66]

To me, it sounds like the perfect solution to those times you can't figure out exactly what to set it to, and you don't have time for a custom WB.

RAW eliminates the need for a lot of that, but not all of it - IMO.

There are times when WB bracketing would be faster/easier then fixing it in PP.

Assuming that you bracketed enough to get the right one somewhere in there....

 

[Emilymarie]

if you shoot RAW it is pointles to mess with WB

 

[Josh66]

if you shoot RAW it is pointles to mess with WB

Not entirely.

Setting the WB, even in RAW, can save time. When I was shooting digital, I always set the WB to daylight. 95% of the time, that was right and I never had to change anything. The other 5% is easy enough to fix in PP...

Auto WB is absolutely the worst setting you could ever possibly set on your camera. Why set yourself up to fail when doing it right is so easy?

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Perhaps use it a couple of times in testing? You might answer your own question? Maybe?

No, I can't. Can YOU answer my question? That's why I asked it.

I also did a search for white balance bracketing, but it came up with a bunch of unrelated threads (or at least that's how it looked)

Where did you search? I just Googled it and a few things came right up including this:

Photography - White Balance Bracketing