Direct Measurement - White Balance

[jamesev]

When using a white / grey card for taking a direct measurement of white balance does the card need to be within the minimum focus distance of the lens?

 

[Kodiak Qc]

does the card need to be within the minimum focus distance of the lens?

No, James, the only right place to set the card for that purpose is
into the light to be measured. 1 It should be filling the whole frame
if you intend to create a camera profile. 2 When placing the card in
the set or scene, the card will be sampled and applied in PP to all
the shots taken in that light condition. I mostly use the second way.

 

[jamesev]

No, James, the only right place to set the card for that purpose is
into the light to be measured. 1 It should be filling the whole frame
if you intend to create a camera profile. 2 When placing the card in
the set or scene, the card will be sampled and applied in PP to all
the shots taken in that light condition. I mostly use the second way.

I was under the assumption that the way it works is by measuring the light conditions of the room and adjusting the camera white balance (and tint) for that room. so no adjustment needed in PP as images will have the correct WB setting.?

 

[MatBin]

I was under the assumption that the way it works is by measuring the light conditions of the room and adjusting the camera white balance (and tint) for that room. so no adjustment needed in PP as images will have the correct WB setting.?

Guess it depends if you are shooting Raw or Jpeg.

 

[-markie-]

No, James, the only right place to set the card for that purpose is
into the light to be measured. 1 It should be filling the whole frame
if you intend to create a camera profile. 2 When placing the card in
the set or scene, the card will be sampled and applied in PP to all
the shots taken in that light condition. I mostly use the second way.

Why not just set the white balance there and then, rather than in post (providing it's practical to do so)?

 

[-markie-]

I was under the assumption that the way it works is by measuring the light conditions of the room and adjusting the camera white balance (and tint) for that room. so no adjustment needed in PP as images will have the correct WB setting.?

I'd personally do this.

Set the white balance from the card then take the shots.

Obviously this might not be practical in every scenario, and you may need to do a quick snap of the card a little later (providing the light hasn't change significantly)

 

[Kodiak Qc]

I was under the assumption that the way it works is by measuring the light conditions of the room and adjusting the camera white balance (and tint) for that room. so no adjustment needed in PP as images will have the correct WB setting.?

This assumption refers to a camera profile and is a commonly
chosen approach by some shooters… but not me.

 

[Kodiak Qc]

Why not just set the white balance there and then, rather than in post (providing it's practical to do so)?

1. WB is the less critical of all parameters at SR for RAW takes
   but becomes the second most important one in PP after DR.
2. When shooting RAW, one has the latitude to do so as a jpg
   shooter loses a lot of it.

My approach is to take a reference shot that is well visible in the frame
— read destructive even — and apply it in post to all the takes captured
in theses conditions.

 

[mike weeks]

I was under the assumption that the way it works is by measuring the light conditions of the room and adjusting the camera white balance (and tint) for that room. so no adjustment needed in PP as images will have the correct WB setting.?

Certainly you can work that way with Nikon. Obviously the WB is used to create the in camera JPEGs but also attached to the RAW for use as the “as shot” setting that you get in RAW converters

Mike

 

[Craig_85]

1. WB is the less critical of all parameters at SR for RAW takes
   but becomes the second most important one in PP after DR.
2. When shooting RAW, one has the latitude to do so as a jpg
   shooter loses a lot of it.

My approach is to take a reference shot that is well visible in the frame
— read destructive even — and apply it in post to all the takes captured
in theses conditions.

This is what I do if I use one. Grey card in shot, then remove it and carry on. Colour picker in raw converter on shot with grey card then copy and paste the wb recipie.

 

[woof woof]

I've shot raw for years and now do so with mirrorless cameras so I rarely worry about this but sometimes I can forget what the scene really looked like. When that happens something in the frame normally gives a good clue and reference point but if I feel the need to get the WB more or less there in camera a custom WB is quick and easy to do with a white door, if there is one, or normally I can get quite close in camera using the K WB facility which only takes seconds to adjust

 

[redsnappa]

White balance only works of the scene is predominantly illuminated by light of a constant colour temperature eg a tungsten light. if the scene to be photographed\videoed is lit by light sources of different colour balance tweaking will make the resulting image look "right"
This link below will display a really good article on white balance and colour temperature.

White Light is a lie

 

[HoppyUK]

When using a white / grey card for taking a direct measurement of white balance does the card need to be within the minimum focus distance of the lens?

It can be anywhere you like, so long as it's illuminated by the same light as the main subject.

I was under the assumption that the way it works is by measuring the light conditions of the room and adjusting the camera white balance (and tint) for that room. so no adjustment needed in PP as images will have the correct WB setting.?

WB adjustment off a white/grey card is very straightforward. You're simply telling the camera (or WB tool in PP) that the reference card is neutral, so all it has to do is adjust until there are equal quantities of red/green/blue in the card and everything else will naturally fall in line correctly. Easy - it doesn't matter what the lighting conditions are.

 

[jamesev]

White balance only works of the scene is predominantly illuminated by light of a constant colour temperature eg a tungsten light. if the scene to be photographed\videoed is lit by light sources of different colour balance tweaking will make the resulting image look "right"
This link below will display a really good article on white balance and colour temperature.

White Light is a lie

it will be its indoors

 

[redsnappa]

As the light you use has a constant colour temperature there will be no issues.

 

[khakoo]

Certainly you can work that way with Nikon. Obviously the WB is used to create the in camera JPEGs but also attached to the RAW for use as the “as shot” setting that you get in RAW converters

Mike

Same with Canon. Very straightforward to create a custom WB and either let it stand when converting from raw, or change it as desired with no penalty. Of course, if shooting JPEG then the WB will be applied right away.

 

[jamesev]

It can be anywhere you like, so long as it's illuminated by the same light as the main subject.



WB adjustment off a white/grey card is very straightforward. You're simply telling the camera (or WB tool in PP) that the reference card is neutral, so all it has to do is adjust until there are equal quantities of red/green/blue in the card and everything else will naturally fall in line correctly. Easy - it doesn't matter what the lighting conditions are.

I was going off the bit in the manual that said ....

Same with Canon. Very straightforward to create a custom WB and either let it stand when converting from raw, or change it as desired with no penalty. Of course, if shooting JPEG then the WB will be applied right away.

Oh thats where I was getting confuddled. I shoot RAW but using the "PRE" function and assigning it to a d-# gets the white balance close if not spot on. Must remember to pack the a0 white paper