White Balance = K

[flaclick]

Hi
I'm trying to learn how to manually dial in the white balance instead of leaving it on AWB all the time. What would you dial in for a sunset picture on the beach, a time when the sun is almost close to the horizon and reds, oranges and yellows are abundant? Would you keep ISO on 100? And, would you use any exposure compensation?

Thanks,
Ruth

[Mike]

Not sure about which WB setting - I use auto and (shooting in RAW) I know I can correct it later if needs be.

If you want the best quality you can get, use a tripod and iso100. I would bracket the shot a stop or so either way for the best range of results.

[Balliolman]

Setting WB is really only crucial for jpeg shooters. Shoot RAW and adjust WB for accuracy and creatively in post processing. Lightroom is excellent for both purposes.

[n1as]

Hi
I'm trying to learn how to manually dial in the white balance instead of leaving it on AWB all the time. What would you dial in for a sunset picture on the beach, a time when the sun is almost close to the horizon and reds, oranges and yellows are abundant? Would you keep ISO on 100? And, would you use any exposure compensation?

Thanks,
Ruth

Those are 3 different questions. I'll hit the WB one.

The overall hue of light is measured in, of all things, Degrees Kelvin. It has to do with the color of light that black body radiators give off when heated. The best way to think about it is that a candle (low temperature) gives off orange light, a dim light bulb is more yellow in color and the sun is very white. Increasing deg. K indicates light which is less orange.

AWB is usually fairly good at picking a white balance for natural light but most are pretty bad with artificial light.

So, sunset at the beach? I'd use AWB, realizing the final image would be a bit orange or yellow. If I wanted true colors at that time, I'd use a white card and do a custom white balance in the camera.

Do you want to dial in an actual Kelvin temperature? I'm guessing here, but probably 4500 to 5000.

ISO - I shoot with the lowest ISO I can and still get enough shutter speed to freeze the action and enough aperture to give me the depth of field I need. Keep ISO low unless you need to raise it. When you need to raise it, do so without hesitation.

Exposure Comp - If the lighting is such that it throws your light meter off, then you'd need to compensate by increasing or decreasing the exposure. Sunset scenes create backlit subjects which require "overexposure" compensation (i.e. you need to overexpose) to compensate for the meter that was fooled by the bright sun into underexposing.

[Balliolman]

Get a good grey card. I use whibal and think it is great. There are cheaper options and others say they are just as good ...

[John_B]

flaclick,
For Sunrise/Sunset photos I usually use the sun/daylight white balance setting and have been very happy with the results ;)

I also shoot in full Manual and take a spot (partial) meter reading from the clouds/sky mid tone area and usually at ISO 100

Sometimes I under expose a bit to get colors with a bit more saturation

[DucoNihilum]

I'd personally use daylight, to exaggerate the reds, oranges, and yellows.