white balance

shingfan

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does it make a difference getting the white balance on the camera when doing the shoot.....or adjust the white balance afterward on computer...assuming that i'm shooting with RAW and that the exposure seems to be correct (i hate to say correct and ppl come back to me and tell me it is a little too dark/bright....lol :p)
 
It helps to have it close...so you don't have to adjust it too much...or at least I would think it would.

Ideally, you should probably take a calibration shot and set a custom WB. Then all the shots in that light should be exactly correct. (or course, correct isn't always best)
 
Generally, it's best to get everything right that you can while shooting. You probably could fix it in Photoshop but that'd be stupid when it takes about 5 seconds to set the proper white balance.
 
I agree with the others but I will add that it is pretty easy to change white balance after the fact. One day I had my camera white balance set for tungsten (my camera does a poor job with tungsten in the auto WB mode) and went outdoors to do some shooting. When I got home I discovered all my images were undertandably very, very blue. I changed them to daylight in the Photoshop RAW screen and they appeared to be none the worse for wear. I think if you leave it in auto WB you will be close enough most of the time.
 
I think if you leave it in auto WB you will be close enough most of the time.
That's what I do and I usually don't have to change it in Camera RAW unless i'm shooting in tungsten lighting, or mixed lighting.
 
With raw it doesn't matter if white balance is set in the camera with software, or in the computer with software. It's exactly the same either way. I shoot raw, and keep my camera wb set to 5000K, just like if the camera was loaded with daylight balanced film. It's what I'm used too.
 
i dont know why....when i leave the camera white balance to auto....the images comes out a bit "cold".....then when i open the RAW with nikon caputure and adjust WB to auto calculate....it adjust it to a warmer temperature which i like better.....so does camera usually yeild a "colder" WB to get the correct color?......if that is the case...then the skin of the people would be too white.....of all my comments....i'm referring to shooting indoor with my flash (SB600) on...and my camera is D80.....
 
Where are you looking at the images when you see that they are a bit cold or when they are warmer?

The LCD on the camera is not really a good place to judge color...and if you monitor is not properly calibrated...then that is not a good place either.
 
i dont know why....when i leave the camera white balance to auto....the images comes out a bit "cold".....then when i open the RAW with nikon caputure and adjust WB to auto calculate....it adjust it to a warmer temperature which i like better.....so does camera usually yeild a "colder" WB to get the correct color?......if that is the case...then the skin of the people would be too white.....of all my comments....i'm referring to shooting indoor with my flash (SB600) on...and my camera is D80.....

There is no right or wrong, really. It is a matter of preference. If you like your images warmer then, by all means, make them warmer. No problem there.
 
Where are you looking at the images when you see that they are a bit cold or when they are warmer?

The LCD on the camera is not really a good place to judge color...and if you monitor is not properly calibrated...then that is not a good place either.

how do i calibrate my monitor properly?.....properly meaning the color at the print shop would match the color i see on my screen?....my monitor is samsung 931C
 
You can kind of do it with an application like 'Adobe Gamma'...but to do it properly, you should use a hardware device like the Colorvision Spyder II (and the accompanying software).
 
how do i calibrate my monitor properly?.....properly meaning the color at the print shop would match the color i see on my screen?....my monitor is samsung 931C

I use a product called the Pantone Huey which is easy and effective. Once it is calibrated, the software keeps it calibrated and recalibrates it automatically if you turn it off. It will also adjust the monitor on the fly if the ambient light changes in the room in which the monitor is located. It is not expensive. I believe it was less than $20.
 

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