White balance

[vintagesnaps]

If you're trying to capture something as it's happening then why not leave it set to auto WB - then if something happens that you want to be able to photograph quickly your camera's already set. When I'm shooting outdoors with my digital camera (I'm a film photographer too, obviously I don't have to set WB for that!) I leave WB on auto and shoot RAW and haven't had to adjust WB in post (I don't need to do much processing).

If you'll be shooting indoors when you arrive do some test shots and figure out which WB setting looks best for that particular lighting. Then you'd be more likely to get a good shot in a split second when it happens.

I've done sports/events and usually go early so I can get my camera set, figure out some good vantage points, etc. so I'm ready when something happens.

 

[paigew]

Okay I take it back...there are times when I use auto wb. but most of the time, there is time to get a custom wb. I shot auto wb a lot at the wedding. But in general, if you have enough time to set up a shot, you should be getting a custom white balance. IMO

 

[bratkinson]

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.

As 480Sparky noted, setting the WB in the camera will work until the color temperature (eg, color 'mix') changes. I had a shoot at church 2 weeks ago that the stage area was lit by various colored lights from each side and overhead florescent to boot! There were significant lighting 'mix' differences even when panning from one side of the stage to the other. When taking a picture of the entire choir on the stage, the people on the left were greenish, and on the right...blueish! I had no choice but to find some 'common balance' to get everybodys' faces 'close enough' during post processing.

Like Sparky, I shoot AWB + RAW. I've tried Expodisk, grey cards, and even the X-Rite Color Checker. As long as the light is constant temperature, they work very well. I did one shoot using the Expodisk and realized I needed an Expodisk shot facing each of the 4 directions in the small banquet facility as there was everything from solid windows on one wall to brick wall on another side, a paneled wall with a window, and then a wall that was mostly window to an adjoining banquet room. The problem with that 'solution' was I had to re-set my CWB every time I changed direction. I tried several shoots using a grey card (WhiBal card) and got good results as well, as long as I reset my CWB when the lighting changed. The Color Checker results came out the best, but was definitely 'overkill' for this amateur. So, I now shoot AWB + RAW. For some of my 'personal' shots, I simply use the JPGs from the camera and if I have to/want to, I can touch up the colors in post. For almost everything else, I use the RAW pix and set WB in post processing. However, for the "Festival of the Giving Trees" where I shot 75 different decorated Christmas trees, I used the JPGs (with AWB). Trying to set WB in individual Christmas trees during post is near impossible!

 

[astroNikon]

You can always change it afterwards on the camera in the Retouch menu, before LR.
it seems to work pretty good.