In Search of White

[xdiii]

This may be a photography 101 question but here goes:

Situation: good studio lighting, manual white balance, scene is 80% white background and 20% gold charm bracelet, macro shot.

Problem: resultant image's "white" background reads as almost perfect 18% gray on reliable Trinitron.

Comment: I know how to fix in PS and I know how to bracket three to five shots off in the direction of over exposed, but ...

Question: Is there a conventional wisdom approach to getting white right on the first shot?

[PacAce]

How about using an 18% gray card and manually setting the exposure for it?

[xdiii]

Always assumed that manual white balance was intended to get color right, not exposure?

[robertwgross]

You might explain how you are attaining manual white balance, step by step.

For that matter, try some of the other white balance types.

---Bob Gross---

[PacAce]

xdiii wrote:
Always assumed that manual white balance was intended to get color right, not exposure?

And you assumed correctly! I didn't mean to say use the manual white balance for setting the exposure. I meant use the "M" setting to set your aperture and shutter speed after you've taken a reading off of a gray card.

Your complaint was that your whites were turning out as 18% grays. That's an exposure problem, not a white balance problem. A white balance problem would manifest itself in the form of color casts, such as a orange cast or a blue cast, etc.

[xdiii]

Thanks for your indulgence. You answered my question! I had attributed more funtionality the custom white balance than I should have.

For the record, I was shooting with a Canon PowerShot G2, Shooting Mode = Aperture-Priority AE, Metering Mode = Evaluative, Exposure Compensation = 0, ISO Speed = Auto, Contrast/Sharpness/Color saturation all = Normal.

I surfaced this question earlier on the G2 forum; got lots of views but no answers until I came here. Thanks again.