focal length: 24 mm
shutter speed: 1/125
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 640
flash: none
What do you think about the colours in this photo? Would you believe that the original (scroll down) had a grossly orange hue. Obviously I did not set custom white balance on this one. I should have brought my grey card with me to this yellow-lit restaurant. Oh well. No worries though, because I shot in RAW format. White balance correction is a breeze with RAW files. I can simply choose from the drop-down menu for White Balance and choose the preset white balance I should have used, or I can move the “Temp” slider around until I find the right colour. Move the slider to the left for a “cooler/blue” temperature or to the right for “warmer/yellow” look.
It’s as simple as that!
If I had shot JPG in-camera, recovering from this mess…
… would’ve been tough. It’s doable but because JPGs are compressed, you may have more difficulty getting the colour that you want.
Have you had any white balance nightmares? Shooting in canned light can be pretty unforgiving, unless you’re shooting RAW. Give it a try sometime under canned light and please let me know your thoughts. For some, the time and processing power needed to work with RAW files just isn’t worth it. For others, it’s a life saver and gives you much more control when fine tuning your images. It all depends on your style of photography and workflow.
Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.
[n.] a resource for beginners who wish to take sweeter pics.
Edit by Laura : http://michellelkentphotography.blogspot.com/2010/03/whats-your-play-86.html...
And Tamara, as long as travel expenses...
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Christina
Jul 23, 2008 at 11:14 am
Do you use a gray card very often? I never have…don’t even have one. I feel like it would have limited use with shooting fast-moving kids, since they don’t stay under the same lighing conditions for very long. I actually rarely even move from auto WB. White balance is one thing I’m NOT good at…I have a hard time analyzing an image and knowing which colors need to be adjusted which way.
laura
Jul 23, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Actually, I do have a grey card but I haven’t used it yet. I use auto WB as well sometimes, especially when there is a mixture of tungsten and natural light. I just fix it as best I can when I process it. In a mixed lighting situation though (indoors usually), I think using the grey card should help. Perhaps I’ll try it tonight!
I’ll let you know my thoughts.