White Balance help

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dwb11

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David
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Hi

I have recently bought myself a Lastolite hilite with some Lencarta smarflashes but when I have taken shots my pictures seem to have a red tinge to them. I am using a 5D classic set to Flash whitebalance.

How can I ensure white balance is correct in camera without having to sort in PP?

Thanks
 
You could do a custom white balance using an 18% grey card & set your camera to that.:)
 
Could be modelling light polution. Do you have the modelling lights on? What power are the Smartflashes on, what shutter speed, ISO and f/number?
 
custom white balance is the best way to go in difficult light situations.Or take it in RAW and adjust it in photoshop/lightroom.
 
You do not need an 18% grey card to set a custom white balance you just need something that is neutral i.e. has equal red, green & blue. A sheet of white paper will do :)
 
Not all white paper is the same:nono:
 
jockwav said:
Not all white paper is the same:nono:
Click to expand...

I agree that some, if not most, are not precisely neutral and that some have whiteners & flourescents added to make them "whiter" but ordinary white paper has always given me an acceptable custom white balance.
Maybe I have been lucky or I have a greater acceptance of colour variations or maybe the differences are too small to worry about. :shrug:
 
I understand what you mean Kev,but for all it costs for a small grey card i think it is well worth it.:):thumbs:
 
Thanks for all the replies. Think I will invest in a grey card for all they cost.

Thanks again for the replies.
 
dwb11 said:
Thanks for all the replies. Think I will invest in a grey card for all they cost.

Thanks again for the replies.
Click to expand...

You should be very close to correct WB if you have set it to flash. You're doing something wrong. See post #3.
 
When using a gray card to set your white balance do you have to completely comer the frame wail taking your test shoot of the card? Today I found it hard to hold the card where it would get the same light as the subject was.
 
If you can fill the frame with the grey card then set your camera to that white balance in your custom settings.
Or take a photo of whatever subject you are taking with the card in the shot somewhere & depending what software you use,i use lightroom & you can select that shot & make it your white balance.
If you are taking a few shots in that same light you can synchronise all those shots the same.:)
 
shaylou said:
When using a gray card to set your white balance do you have to completely comer the frame wail taking your test shoot of the card? Today I found it hard to hold the card where it would get the same light as the subject was.
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I'm not sure about all brands, but with Canon, no. You just have to cover the centre circle in the viewfinder for custom white balance. Move closer, being careful not to shade the card with your body, or zoom in just for that WB shot.

Check handbook for your camera. It will probably suggest to use a sheet of white paper which is arguably better for WB than grey (less chance of noise though it doesn't matter much, use grey for exposure setting) and will always get you very close even if not perfect. As a comment, it's better to get the colours 'looking' right rather than technically correct and that's not always the same thing.
 
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jockwav said:
If you can fill the frame with the grey card then set your camera to that white balance in your custom settings.
Or take a photo of whatever subject you are taking with the card in the shot somewhere & depending what software you use,i use lightroom & you can select that shot & make it your white balance.
If you are taking a few shots in that same light you can synchronise all those shots the same.:)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I started using spot metering when I set the white balance lately. It is just one more step and not a big deal however I have forgotten to change it back a couple of times. I would rather not make the additional step if I dont have to. I find myself resetting the white balance somewhat often as the sun is going down or I'm changing positions/locations. I tend to walk a lot when I'm shooting, in case your wondering. I'm I correct by changing the white balance in these situations?
 
I think personally if you are moving into a different light setting it can,t hurt to take a new custom balance shot as its easy to do.:):thumbs:
 
shaylou said:
...
I find myself resetting the white balance somewhat often as the sun is going down or I'm changing positions/locations. I tend to walk a lot when I'm shooting, in case your wondering. I'm I correct by changing the white balance in these situations?
Click to expand...

That depends what you want to achieve. If I'm shooting in wonderful golden light from the sunset, I'll likely want to show that in my pictures, not for the camera to see that light and make it white. That's what WB is about, making all of your whites white.

If shooting under tungsten light I might want to show it like daylight or to show that its slightly warm to build the atmosphere - so theres no 'right', its a judgement call.
 
Phil V said:
That depends what you want to achieve. If I'm shooting in wonderful golden light from the sunset, I'll likely want to show that in my pictures, not for the camera to see that light and make it white. That's what WB is about, making all of your whites white.

If shooting under tungsten light I might want to show it like daylight or to show that its slightly warm to build the atmosphere - so theres no 'right', its a judgement call.
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Yes, exactly Phil.

Technically, the colour of an object is the colour of the light reflected from it, and that changes according to the colour of the light falling on it.

Our eyes moderate that instinctively so that it 'looks right' and generally speaking that means what we perceive is somewhere around the correct colour when viewed in noon daylight, approx 5500K. But not always ;)
 
One thing that I did not like about my pics was that even though the exposure was correct the shots seemed a bit washed out and lacked contrast. I started using a gray card and it seemed to help.the shots seemed to have more colour detail and a more natural look. (Bright day light). I (think) I understand what setting the white balance is actually doing but I'm confused on why we should not always have it set to the card. Wouldn't this give us a more accurate picture of what we are seeing?
 
'washed out and lacking contrast' sounds like overexposure, but could also be flare from shooting into the light with cheap lenses, filters, etc.

youll have real issues until you can work out what's what. The auto wb should be close enough >90% of the time, which is good enough for you not to be confusing it with other settings. leave it on auto until youre certain everything else is perfect.

Once youve got a properly exposed picture up on your computer you can make the best of it.
 
I'm using a t3i /600D with canon 17-55 f2.8. - B+H F Pro multi coated filter. (Got the advise to buy lens from this forum- great advise!). I had problems at first but it just me being a newbe. I posted a question about if under exposing was a bad idea because in doing so I seemed to bring out colour and contour. Overall I just liked the way they looked when I dialed it back a bit (personal preference). I also realized that even though I understood dof by definition I didn't fully understand how apply it correctly. Point is I'm sure its not my equipment and even though I have learned a lot I'm only a mile into a ten thousand mile journey. I think it would be best for me to work more on applying dof and white balance in the field but if you think I should put white balance on hold I will consider that as well. I wanted to also mention that I use to always go into the wb setting on lightroom and end up with auto setting. But now that I have been using a gray card I always end up using my custom white setting.
 
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