White balance and exposure

[jeniveeev]

Hi - I hope a few of you knowledgable members can help me with my issues on white balance and exposure. Im wondering what everyone else does for outdoor portraiture? I have been presetting my WB with my 18% grey card then exposing off my Kodak grey card for correct skin tones. The problem I have is mostly with my WB preset....i just cant get the colour temperature right! I dont have anything to post as an example as i keep deleting them through disappointment but its really bugging me as I know that im doing something wrong but not sure what. To make life easy should i just go back to shooting in auto WB or persist with the 18% grey card? I shoot in Jpeg but have been making the effort recently to shoot RAW. Perhaps i should set my camera to both but then that uses up lots of space. Sorry for all the mumbling and questions but i really would like to nail this. Thank you.

 

[Tyke Tiler]

I only use an grey card when conditions are very tricky and even then most of the time I opt for a manual white balance.

I also use the presets loads, if your outdoors and it's cloudy, then pick cloudy etc. The presets on both my camera's are extremely accurate (D200 & D3).

Here's an example, the weather was pretty darn cloudy and even indoors by window light the cloudy preset nailed it:

I rarely use it but auto can be handy to help to figure out a general region for a manual white balance.

I find a variation of the above very satisfactory I don't have to fiddle with anything too much afterward.

The only time the above tips become tricky is when there are multiple colour temperatures such as daylight and fluorescent, then you have to try to determine which is the most dominant or which is the most beneficial for skin tone and then set accordingly. I always shoot raw and always try to get white balance as accurate as possible in camera.

Hope this helps

 

[Chaz Photos]

As I understand it a 18% grey card will be used for exposure and a white card for white light balance.
Not sure with Nikon but with Canon you take a photo of the white card and then set the WB.

 

[Tyke Tiler]

As I understand it a 18% grey card will be used for exposure and a white card for white light balance.
Not sure with Nikon but with Canon you take a photo of the white card and then set the WB.

Nikon recommend using an 18% grey card for white balance too, I tried and tested it with the custom white balance and the grey card wins for consistent accuracy hands down.

 

[CT]

Generally speaking, DSLR cameras leave alot to be desired when it comes to the Auto WB setting. I find AWB works fine for outdoor shots and flash shots, but under articial light it's better to set the wb in degs Kelvin or take a custom wb shot and set wb with that.

A grey card reading is for setting the level of exposure on a mid tone -it wont have any effect on your wb unless you actually take a frame filling shot of that grey card and use it to set a custom white balance. Sorry if you already appreciate that but it's not clear from your post.

For outdoor natural light shots or flash shots, then I'd be happy to rely on AWB and shooting RAW. Give that a try and see how you get on.

 

[jeniveeev]

I only use an grey card when conditions are very tricky and even then most of the time I opt for a manual white balance.

I also use the presets loads, if your outdoors and it's cloudy, then pick cloudy etc. The presets on both my camera's are extremely accurate (D200 & D3).

Here's an example, the weather was pretty darn cloudy and even indoors by window light the cloudy preset nailed it:

I rarely use it but auto can be handy to help to figure out a general region for a manual white balance.

I find a variation of the above very satisfactory I don't have to fiddle with anything too much afterward.

The only time the above tips become tricky is when there are multiple colour temperatures such as daylight and fluorescent, then you have to try to determine which is the most dominant or which is the most beneficial for skin tone and then set accordingly. I always shoot raw and always try to get white balance as accurate as possible in camera.

Hope this helps

Thanks Tomas - Im hoping to have all my settings as accurate as possible in camera so i have less processing afterwards. The lighting is tricky particularly if its bright one minute then i got sea haar the next!

As I understand it a 18% grey card will be used for exposure and a white card for white light balance.
Not sure with Nikon but with Canon you take a photo of the white card and then set the WB.

Nikon recommend using an 18% grey card for white balance too, I tried and tested it with the custom white balance and the grey card wins for consistent accuracy hands down.

I take a picture of the card in preset WB and use that as my setting, but what im finding is, when i change location or the light changes, as it does quickly then i have to keep changing my WB as the light doesnt stay the same. hope this makes sense. it seems to be a lot of faffing about and never easy when im shooting kids!

 

[jeniveeev]

Generally speaking, DSLR cameras leave alot to be desired when it comes to the Auto WB setting. I find AWB works fine for outdoor shots and flash shots, but under articial light it's better to set the wb in degs Kelvin or take a custom wb shot and set wb with that.

A grey card reading is for setting the level of exposure on a mid tone -it wont have any effect on your wb unless you actually take a frame filling shot of that grey card and use it to set a custom white balance. Sorry if you already appreciate that but it's not clear from your post.

For outdoor natural light shots or flash shots, then I'd be happy to rely on AWB and shooting RAW. Give that a try and see how you get on.

sorry CT - i realise i wasnt clear in my post, I fill the frame with the card and set it in preset WB. what im finding though is the light changes and if i move from one area to another im changing WB all the time, not easy with the kiddies running around. So you reckon RAW and AWB is the way to go? also, if i load my images into LR i can use the dropper tool to sort out the WB, is this accurate and correct?

 

[nuttyboy78]

It's probably easiest to shoot with AWB and change the WB during PP in LR. You can then set it to whatever you think looks best for that particular pic.

 

[CT]

sorry CT - i realise i wasnt clear in my post, I fill the frame with the card and set it in preset WB. what im finding though is the light changes and if i move from one area to another im changing WB all the time, not easy with the kiddies running around. So you reckon RAW and AWB is the way to go? also, if i load my images into LR i can use the dropper tool to sort out the WB, is this accurate and correct?

I'd try the RAW route personally. If you shoot RAW then no WB setting is assigned to the image at all and you can set any wb you like at the editing stage. The accuracy of the eye dropper tool depends largely on being able to click on a white bit in your image (or an 18% grey bit). I tend to click on a white bit as you can usually find a white bit to use however tiny. Look for as clean a white as you can as there are many shades of white obviously. When you've got it pretty well right you can usually judge by eye that the image looks right overall and free from any obvious casts.

 

[jeniveeev]

thanks guys - i prefer this option to the card, until i can get it right. )

 

[The23rdman]

I shoot RAW too and tend to have a look around the room for something white to shoot first. I'll then use this as a WB preset for the rest of the set. Of course, if you've a nice sheet of white paper it's easier to do a CWB.

 

[Tyke Tiler]

I take a picture of the card in preset WB and use that as my setting, but what im finding is, when i change location or the light changes, as it does quickly then i have to keep changing my WB as the light doesnt stay the same. hope this makes sense. it seems to be a lot of faffing about and never easy when im shooting kids!

This is where grey card white balance isn't going to help. If your not using flash then I'd definitely opt to choose the closest preset such as daylight, cloudy, shade, tungsten etc and shoot in raw

 

[cowasaki]

jeniveeev,

You have a D300 so the easiest way to set the white balance on that camera is to switch to live view, then look at the rear screen. Hold the WB button and turn the wheel until the colour on the display matches real life !! Works an absolute treat on the D300/700/3 etc..

Seeempuls..