White balance

[hamlet]

Is there a difference quality wise in choosing the correct white balance in the camera or doing it in post? Like say for instance: a situation where the scene i'm photographing has yellow lighting. What is the correct course of action here? I mean sometimes i cant get the correct everything in my camera because i either forget or its a photo of something that is about to be over and will never happen in a trillion years.

 

[Ihatemymoney]

When I am shooting product photography I set and use custom WB at the beginning of each photo shoot.
Outside I will use the features the camera offers. sunny, shade, cloudy ,etc etc.

 

[480sparky38 37]

...... What is the correct course of action here? .........

Shoot raw.

That way, if the chosen WB is incorrect, you can always change it in post.

 

[apaflo]

Shoot raw.

That way, if the chosen WB is incorrect, you can always change it in post.

Exactly! And that applies, perhaps to a lesser degree, to just about everything you might want to adjust. The guess you make about any specific configuration before pressing the shutter release might get into the ballpark, but can never be precisely correct. With post processing there is the option of using a guess only as the starting point, and then observing and making adjustments until exactly the right configuration is achieved.

 

[ronlane]

...... What is the correct course of action here? .........

Shoot raw.

That way, if the chosen WB is incorrect, you can always change it in post.

This or get an expodisc and shoot a photo with it before starting, that way you have a reference for wb.

 

[480sparky38 37]

This or get an expodisc and shoot a photo with it before starting, that way you have a reference for wb.

That will work......... until the color temperature of the lighting changes. And you may not see that oh-so-subtle change at all in the field.

I typically shoot with Auto WB and raw. The AWB pretty much nails it 90% of the time. The other 10%, it's just a few mireds one way or the other in post.

The only times I shoot with a preset WB is under controlled/consistent lighting,..... such as with monolights in the studio or at a venue with a known, unchanging Kelvin value.

 

[LeeStar]

Is there a difference quality wise in choosing the correct white balance in the camera or doing it in post? Like say for instance: a situation where the scene i'm photographing has yellow lighting. What is the correct course of action here? I mean sometimes i cant get the correct everything in my camera because i either forget or its a photo of something that is about to be over and will never happen in a trillion years.

Why don't you try some experiments to see what the differences might be, if any. I think there is a difference between setting the correct white balance in the camera and doing it in post, although not quality wise but color wise. I actually found out by accident that I like my results better when I purposely set WB to Tungsten in outdoor daylight conditions and convert it in post. Weird, I know, just a personal quirk I guess. Then too, sometimes I like my results better when using daylight white balance in tungsten conditions, the yellow cast will be more atmospheric for the mood I'm trying to capture. Also, not all cameras are the same, and there is personal preference to take into account. As long as you shoot in raw you can always change in post to get results you like best.

 

[pgriz]

Shooting in RAW and using an expo-disc or other target is a good way to adjust the WB in post, but you also have to be careful about having a mix of light sources in the same image. For example, you could be shooting a scene where part of it is in direct sunlight (WB around 5700K), part of it is in shade (WB around 7000K), and part of it is lit by artificial light (say WB of tungsten, or 3200K). Now you have to decide which WB is the most important for your subject. Whenever possible, it's best to try and keep your light sources of the same general WB type.

 

[KmH]

If a scene is lit by more than 1 light source color temperature white balance can only be completely corrected for only 1 light source color =r temperature.

• Understanding White Balance

The in-camera white balance adjustments are usually more crude than what is available post process.

The best way to ensure correct white balance to use a quality gray card both to set a custom white balance in the camera and to correct white balance post process.

I don't recommend the Expodisc based on cost, and lack of versatility.

 

[ronlane]

This or get an expodisc and shoot a photo with it before starting, that way you have a reference for wb.

That will work......... until the color temperature of the lighting changes. And you may not see that oh-so-subtle change at all in the field.

I typically shoot with Auto WB and raw. The AWB pretty much nails it 90% of the time. The other 10%, it's just a few mireds one way or the other in post.

The only times I shoot with a preset WB is under controlled/consistent lighting,..... such as with monolights in the studio or at a venue with a known, unchanging Kelvin value.

Sparky, you are right about the change but I wasn't necessarily talking about setting a custom wb. Once you take that picture with the expodisc, you can import it into LR and use the picker to set the wb on that photo and then copy it to the others. At this point you should be able to tell if there are subtle differences where the light changed and then make the adjustment. More than one way to skin a cat.

 

[480sparky38 37]

.......... More than one way to skin a cat.

And if you don't have LR?.............:er:

 

[ronlane]

.......... More than one way to skin a cat.

And if you don't have LR?.............:er:

You can download it for trial then you'll like it and buy it. Lol

 

[paigew]

correcting wb in post is not always the best choice, especially when trying to get correct skin tones. I try to shoot custom white balance all the time using an expodisc. As for it not being versatile, I bought the biggest size so it would fit any lens. I don't screw it in...just hold it up. And they are only $50 now!

 

[480sparky38 37]

..... I don't screw it in............

They've never screwed on.... they've always been spring-loaded.

 

[paigew]

..... I don't screw it in............

They've never screwed on.... they've always been spring-loaded.

Well whatever it is! I never attach it (obviously )