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Real noob question about White Balance.
- Thread starter chris-red
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The best way would be to get a neutral grey target into a picture under the same lighting as the subject and sample off that.
I think that if that is not possible then looking for something that should be neutral grey in the image is better than looking for something that is white (but not blown) as this gives LR more info to work from.
I think that if that is not possible then looking for something that should be neutral grey in the image is better than looking for something that is white (but not blown) as this gives LR more info to work from.
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- Frank
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The easiest way to get an accurate white balance is to shoot a grey card under the same lighting as your subject.
Of course, an accurate white balance isn't necessarily the correct white balance.
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Taking a WB off grass will give you all sorts of chaos!
You can use grass as a midtone for taking an exposure reading, but your WB needs to be off a neutral colour.
I use Colorchecker Passport for anything where WB is critical, either stand it in the shot and then clone it out, or take a reference shot first and copy it across to subsequent files. If you want to do a really good job you can set it as a custom white balance in camera so your previews look correct.
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Buy a grey card, doesn't have to be an expensive one, to use as a reference. Take a photo of this and then, when back in LR, set WB with the wb dropper. Then it's just a matter of syncing to other photos taken under the same lighting.
This is the easiest way, to begin, then when you're more comfortable you can look at the other options.
This is the easiest way, to begin, then when you're more comfortable you can look at the other options.
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- Duncan
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I use a fold up thingy....
Here's an example.
1) No filter, WB as shot (daylight).
2) Big Stopper, WB as shot (daylight).
3) Same image using Lightroom WB Dropper on the thingy. Colour looks fine, but there is nothing I can do about the model
Here's an example.
1) No filter, WB as shot (daylight).
2) Big Stopper, WB as shot (daylight).
3) Same image using Lightroom WB Dropper on the thingy. Colour looks fine, but there is nothing I can do about the model
Yes you are right
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- Stewart
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For exposure, surely? Not for white balance?
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- Mark
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It must be, unless he has very pallid neutral coloured hands (if that is the case I would suggest a trip to a GP is in order, if not an embalmer).
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- Lee
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That. My 'finished' WB is usually nothing like the 'correct' WB at the time of shooting.
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- Phil
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Grey cards are not fit for white balance, they're for exposure checking.
They aren't designed to be a neutral grey, and if you're shooting at higher ISO's they will take on colour noise, so you'll be sampling a multi coloured mosaic (there'll be more noise in mid grey than white).
Always use a known white for white balance (perhaps that's why they don't call it grey balance).
They aren't designed to be a neutral grey, and if you're shooting at higher ISO's they will take on colour noise, so you'll be sampling a multi coloured mosaic (there'll be more noise in mid grey than white).
Always use a known white for white balance (perhaps that's why they don't call it grey balance).
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A decent grey target should be a neutral grey. They're as easy to obtain as a neutral white target, probably easier. You can't rely on 'white' objects in your image - have you seen how many 'whites' there are in the average paint catalog?
With a white target you stand a chance of saturating one of the colour channels, making it useless for white balance.
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That's why I suggested an actual white target. You'll find them sold for the purpose. They're more likely to be neutral than a grey target which, as I said earlier is designed for an entirely different purpose.
You'll note from those listings from a reputable site and reputable suppliers how carefully it's worded. Grey for exposure / white for WB.
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You mean:
Link 1:
The Colour Confidence Total Balance Collapsible AF Grey Card is a double-sided 18% neutral grey card for light meter readings
I'll give you that your 2nd link suggests it's suitable for WB, they also sell a white one
I'll still maintain that a grey card will pick up colour noise much sooner than a white card, making the white card much more suitable IMO.
You can disagree if you wish - you won't change my mind and most manufacturers of white balance products seem to agree with me, whether you like it or not.
The process isn't called grey balancing
D
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You mean:
Link 1:
The Colour Confidence Total Balance Collapsible AF Grey Card is a double-sided 18% neutral grey card for light meter readings
I'll give you that your 2nd link suggests it's suitable for WB, they also sell a white one
I'll still maintain that a grey card will pick up colour noise much sooner than a white card, making the white card much more suitable IMO.
You can disagree if you wish - you won't change my mind and most manufacturers of white balance products seem to agree with me, whether you like it or not.
The process isn't called grey balancing
To the camera white is just a brighter grey. B-)
And if you are worried about noise affecting the white balance (which I'd be surprised if that affects the current raw editors) just over expose the test shot.
But as had been said previously, the correct white balance is not always the best.
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Er, you missed the bit "neutral grey card for light meter readings, ensuring consistent and accurately balanced "
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Well if it said colour I missed it
accurately balanced doesn't mean jack... It's buzzword without promise
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To the camera white is just a brighter grey. B-)
And if you are worried about noise affecting the white balance (which I'd be surprised if that affects the current raw editors) just over expose the test shot.
But as had been said previously, the correct white balance is not always the best.
You know thats the worst answer to a problem I've ever seen, it's salesman speak.
Me: The best colour to balance off is white.
You: Well, you can always use grey andoverexpose - it's the same thing
I know that, but why overexpose grey for the same result I can get from white?
It's like buying a D800 instead of a longer lens, it's a correct answer, but not the answer
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I'm quite interested in this discussion, I've heard people mention white balancing from grey cards before and it's never made a shred of sense to me why that would be the best way of doing it so it's interesting to see these points of view!
Personally I just stick with shooting RAW with the camera set to AWB and adjust the RAW file according to how I want it to look, unless I'm shooting under artificial or otherwise 'less normal' or awkward light in which case I'll usually custom WB. It might not be the most technically correct way of doing things but I trust my eyes and it works just fine for me, at least most of the time!
Personally I just stick with shooting RAW with the camera set to AWB and adjust the RAW file according to how I want it to look, unless I'm shooting under artificial or otherwise 'less normal' or awkward light in which case I'll usually custom WB. It might not be the most technically correct way of doing things but I trust my eyes and it works just fine for me, at least most of the time!
D
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You know thats the worst answer to a problem I've ever seen, it's salesman speak.
Me: The best colour to balance off is white.
You: Well, you can always use grey andoverexpose - it's the same thing
I know that, but why overexpose grey for the same result I can get from white?
If you have a grey card instead of a white card!
Still wont make the blindest bit off difference to the white balance though. The camera just wants to see the rgb ratios.
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That's the bottom line, surely. All that matters is that the target doesn't have any imbalance in the RGB ratios, which can be achieved with both grey and white targets. (But not any old sheet of white paper, which could easily have a colour cast.)