White Balance

  • Thread starter Thread starter RobbieW
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RobbieW

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Hi

I am very lazy when it comes to changing white balance on the camera as I shoot in Raw and therefore use the Canon RAW Image Task software to change it when i am tweaking other settings.

As I do alot of studio work I was thinking maybe I should get the white balance correct in the studio by using a photo card. This months Digital Camera mag was giving them away for free so I now am the owner of onbe, but I am a little confussed about using it.

It says use the grey side and using spot metering take a photo of it, and then in the RAW software select it there. How would this work?

Does anyone else use a grey/white card in the studio or leave it to auto or flash?

Thanks for any pointers

Rob
 
Just been reading my camera's manual, and it said using sport metering I can take a pic of the grey card and select it as custom WB in the camera, if I did this and it was wrong I assume I could change it back in my RAW software, is that right?

I ahve a booking next weekend for a studio session and would prefer not to risk messing up that but don't have any practice time before then :(
 
You need to fill the frame I think to set the white balance and make sure the light that is hitting the card is the same that will be hitting the subject. i.e flash or sunlight etc

You can set it back in the RAW software if you get it wrong on the day, but it looks better when showing client the back of the camera if it is right in the first place!
 
Juat a point to note, if you haven't got a grey card, the inside grey of the Lowpro bags is also 18% grey :)
 
thanks guys for your responses,

I ahve just had a little fiddle to get my head round it and these are the results, and of course the process I went through:-

1. Took a photo of the object I wished to photograph, this was done using standard raw, and auto white balance.

pre-white-balance.jpg


2. Took a photo of the grey card on its own, this was done using spot metering but I guess as it filled the frame I could of used evaluative metering instead (IS THAT RIGHT??)

white-balance.jpg


3. Selected Customer White Balance through the cameras menu and chose the above image, then set the white balance mode to custom and re took the original image:

post-white-balance.jpg


What a difference,

apoologies for the slighhtly soft results I used manual focusing and my eyes aren't too sharp at this time of night.

Just proves that the grey cards are invaluable, I got mine with this months Digital Photo for £3.99 well worth it.

Can anyone comment on whether I need to use the same metering mode when taking the photo of the card as I do for the rest of the shoot? and when taking a studio pic where should I ask the model(s) to hold the card?

Rob
 
If you're using the grey card to select white balance you don't need to fill the frame. it's there as a reference point only. Use the same metering mode.

Easiest way , set up your subject. Add the grey card. Shoot, remove grey card.
In the studio you'll only need to do this once as the lighting quality isn't going to change.I hope.

I would also suggest you don't get to hung up on having a neutral card. it's a good starting point, but you may find a little warmth in the image helps.

If you're shooting RAW there is no white balance information in the image. You get the RAW data before it gets processed in the camera. What you may see in the exif information is simply the data that the camera is set to, however converters tend to use this to display the image
 
Chappers, thanks for that, if I don't fill the frame with the grey card and use evaluative metering how would it work? as evaluative evaluates the whole frame (I thought)

Thanks

Rob
 
With studio conditions you can take one shot with the card in frame and then when you process use the option of Click to set the WB by clicking somewhere on the card - so it doesn't need to fill the frame, it just needs to be big enough to click on.
 
With a white card you could blow the data on on or more channels so you might not get an accurate result. It's the ratio between the 3 channels that you need to evaluate so a grey card works fine.
 
rwotton said:
Chappers, thanks for that, if I don't fill the frame with the grey card and use evaluative metering how would it work? as evaluative evaluates the whole frame (I thought)

Thanks

Rob
Click to expand...

I assume Chapers is referring to a grey card included in the shot which you can click on in your RAW processor to select wb.

I think you're getting confused with setting the wb with a custom wb shot using a grey card, when the card would need to fill the frame and as you rightly guess - as long as the card does fill the frame, the metering method is immaterial.
 
Thanks for raising this Rob, its something i have seen used [as you have] but now understand far better. Have a studio shoot next week & will have a play

John
 
johnb said:
Thanks for raising this Rob, its something i have seen used [as you have] but now understand far better. Have a studio shoot next week & will have a play

John
Click to expand...

wheres my invite :thinking:
 
cheers for starting this thread rwotten as its motivated me on learning something new about my camera today and its going to be a great help :thumbs:. I also had the grey card from digital camera and can see its going to be helpful
 
Ok I've found out how to set a custom white balance, but the brain has been ticking over, yep it hurts, and how would this work in practice?

Would I use this method of setting white balance with a meter reading to get better results or would they contradict each other?

Is it better to take a meter reading from a neutral area of the scene or to set the white balance? Or is it a case of suck it and see which works best for which scene?

Sorry if these are stupid question or If I am contradicting myself, but I'm just trying to find out the best methods to use!!
 
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