White balancing in ACR

[aliciaqw]

When I white balance in Adobe Camera Raw, do I use why eye dropper on the 18% gray card or my white card?

Thanks!

 

[aliciaqw]

Anyone? Looking for my best way to WB after the fact. I just ordered a white balance/gray card today...

 

[Big Mike]

You could use either.

What you are looking for, when setting your WB with the eyedropper...is something that is color neutral...(R, B & G numbers the same). When I use the eyedropper, there is a display that shows the color that is under the dropper....it shows the three number value so I just move my dropper around tones/colors that I think should be fairly neutral. When I find the spot where the numbers are the closest...that's where I click.

 

[aliciaqw]

You could use either.

What you are looking for, when setting your WB with the eyedropper...is something that is color neutral...(R, B & G numbers the same). When I use the eyedropper, there is a display that shoes the color that is under the dropper....it shows the three number value so I just move my dropper around tones/colors that I think should be fairly neutral. When I find the spot where the numbers are the closest...that's where I click.

Thanks, Mike. That's the answer I was looking for You're the best!

 

[Dwig]

When I white balance in Adobe Camera Raw, do I use why eye dropper on the 18% gray card or my white card?

Both should work in theory, but ...

... using the white may not work. If the white is overexposed enough that it clips (R, G, and/or B values of 254) its not a valid target. Even when the values are a little lower they could be questionable. I never rely on sampling whites with values lighter than the mid 240s.

 

[eric-holmes]

Do you have to shoot each shot with a WB card in it?

 

[KmH]

Just once for each lighting environment.

 

[eric-holmes]

OP, not trying to thread jack and I can take it to PM if you prefer.

KmH, How would I use it on one picture that didn't have the card in it?

 

[aliciaqw]

OP, not trying to thread jack and I can take it to PM if you prefer.

KmH, How would I use it on one picture that didn't have the card in it?

You can do what BigMike suggested, I think.

 

[Big Mike]

KmH, How would I use it on one picture that didn't have the card in it?

You can use one setting, and apply it to as many images as you want.

For example: in Lightroom I open a set of images from a photo shoot, I pick an image and find the WB setting that I want. It doesn't always have to be accurate, I often choose what looks good over what is accurate. Once I have it set, I select all the other images there were shot with the same lighting conditions and click the 'sync' button. I choose to sync the WB and then hit OK/apply. It applies that WB setting to all of the images in a matter of seconds.

You don't need LR to do this, most RAW processing software will allow you to copy settings from one image to another (or a group of other images).

If all your shots are under different lighting, then this obviously won't work well.