Taking Control of Color with Custom White Balance Settings
White balance is the function in your camera or image software that removes an unrealistic color cast so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the “color temperature” of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. Our eyes are very good at judging what is white under different light sources; however digital cameras often have great difficulty with the auto white balance (AWB) setting.
Shooting in RAW format allows you to adjust white balance after the photo has been taken. Raw files also allow one to set the WB based on a broader range of color temperature (blue – yellow) and tint (green – magenta) shifts. In your software, find and use a neutral reference to correct the white balance, then hand tune to your taste.
For situations where you anticipate auto white balance will encounter problems or you are noticing an undesired coloration, a neutral reference device is an easy tool to use and carry into the field with you. (see my review of one of these devices)
A neutral gray card
There are two ways to use these devices:
A) Take a photo of the device in the same light as your subject then use this photo in your software as the neutral reference for correcting the photo. Copy the white balance correction to all of the photos from the shoot by using the synchronize function in your software or use the same temperature and tint settings in each photo from the shoot.
Open your RAW files in Adobe Camera Raw, select your reference photo first, then click on the other photos and select Synchronize from the upper left to apply the WB settings to the other photos
B) Use the custom white balance feature on your camera. Doing this involves taking a picture of the grey card in the same light as the subject and the camera will use the resultant correction for all photos shot while the WB function is set to “custom”. You can change back and forth between WB functions and the “custom” settings will hold until you take a new photo.
With each method you should retake the neutral reference photo as the light changes throughout the day.
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| The Auto setting here misinterpreted the elephant's color and added too much blue to the scene | A custom WB setting using a gray card rendered more accurate colors |
Custom white balance works best when you want color accuracy as if the photo was shot under neutral light. Custom white balance (and auto) is not a good choice when colored light is an integral part of the photo such as in a sunset. In this case you will need to experiment with the presets on the camera or set your own color temperature.
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| The colors here using the Auto setting may be more accurate, but the mood is missing | The morning mood is conveyed in the warm colors which would have been lost if I had not controled my own WB settings |
Don’t let your camera make all of the decisions for you. Auto white balance will not always make the best decision. Taking control of the color in your photos during the shoot should save you time in post processing. An added benefit may be your greater attention to the lighting conditions and how they are affecting the creative mood and technical quality of your photos.
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