balance during a wedding; a realistic approach?

[rightaway]

Hi,

How do you guys and gals handle white balance when shooting weddings?
I find that it can be quite difficut to handle that problem as the lighting can vary quite a bit within the same location! :confused:

The lighting can be very different from the back of the church than the front. There seem to be more churches than before with skylights. Depending where the couple is at certain moments during the wedding, the white balance might have to be redone. Even a changing sky condition will have an effect...

I'd rather nail the white balance on the spot than having to fix RAW files after the fact.

Any realistic suggestions on white balance tools?

thanks

[tim]

I wouldn't have time to fiddle with white cards during a wedding. I shoot auto 99% the time, shoot RAW so you can fiddle with it later. Make sure you have a calibrated monitor. I change to presets (tungsten, cloudy, etc) only occasionally.

[Wazza]

Like tim, I also use auto probably 99% of the time. The 20D rarely goes wrong, and by shooting RAW, it's extremely easy to move the slider in RawShooter Essentials, and get the correct balance. I never could figure out how to do a JPG image in photoshop though. I'm lacking the skills. Raw is a lifesaver sometimes. Always use it. :)

[tim]

Wazza, I use the color ballance sliders in JPG, though since I shoot RAW I don't need to.

[rightaway]

How long does the 20D take to record the RAW file to memory?
Shooting high Jpeg has the advantage of saving the shots faster to the memory.

Tim, what do you use to calibrate your monitor?

thanks

Stephan

[tim]

How long does the 20D take to record the RAW file to memory?
Shooting high Jpeg has the advantage of saving the shots faster to the memory.

In practice this isn't an issue. The 20D has a buffer of 6 shots, and it empties quickly. Unless you tend to hold your finger on the shutter for 2+ seconds RAW is easily fast enough, and if you do that i'd have to wonder why.

Tim, what do you use to calibrate your monitor?

Optrix XR, which I got from B&H. I have an LCD, it calibrates LCD or CRT.

[rightaway]

Tim,

That system is over $1K... I can't afford that :(
What about the spyder system from color vision?

thanks

[tim]

This one (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=310560&is=REG&addedTroughType=search) is the one i'm talking about, $219.

[rightaway]

I see!!!

Optix and not Optrix!!! ;)

Any advantage over the spyder?

[tim]

Ah I was close! Check out the comparison article somewhere on smartshooter.com, it compares them and this one comes out better somehow. I think Pekka has the Spyder and likes it.

[rightaway]

Tim,

That "r" nearly cost me $1000!!!! :D and you said you were close!!! lol

[tim]

Heh, the advice is worth what you paid for it :p