Custom White Balance

[Jonny]

I have never been to worried about white balance as i tend to shoot RAW but i would still love to know how to get it right if i need to.

So how exactly do you do a 'Custom White Balance'?

Some people say white card and some say grey card :-s

How big does this card need to be? Do i have to carry an A4 piece around with me? Does the shot of the card need to fill the frame?

Can someone guide me from start to finish?

thanks

[Jesper]

Look in the manual of your camera, it explains step by step what you'll have to do to set custom white balance.

The white or neutral gray card (it doesn't really matter what you use, as long as it's neutral gray) should cover the center circle in the viewfinder.

[dhbailey]

I have tried it with both a white card and with a 20% grey card (20% because it was easy to print one from within WordPerfect) and they both yielded the same results in the same room with the same subject.

I've read that the gray card is often preferred because it give the camera a slightly more accurate reading than the white card does in certain situations. I printed my 20% gray from WordPerfect onto card stock, so the flip side is white and thus I can choose which I think will work best, or try them both out and see which gives the best results.

[JZaun]

Ck this link. I did a custom WB with a white and a grey and auto.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=48207

JZ

[LexLuther]

I've read your link and found it very informative, but I am wondering how you go about fixing your WB from within PSE3? Any tips would be great.

(I just shot photo's of my bro's fiancee's bridal shower, and ALL the photo's turned out horribly yellow.)

[wolf]

I've read your link and found it very informative, but I am wondering how you go about fixing your WB from within PSE3? Any tips would be great.

(I just shot photo's of my bro's fiancee's bridal shower, and ALL the photo's turned out horribly yellow.)

You can manipulate the "WB" in PSE 3 by using the "Remove Color Cast" and "Color Variations", but the best and most accurate way is to shoot raw.

[LexLuther]

Well, hopefully if I can find the time over the next few weeks, I willd definately be getting into shooting raw, along with setting custom white balance in different situations.

Unfortunately it's a little late for this since the Bridal Shower is now over. It was mostly candid shots moving from outside to lobby to dining area. Photo's with flash turned out pretty good, although anything I did without a flash ended up with this horrible color cast (I think this may be the correct term) that's mostly yellow/red.

And I'm actually using PSCS, not PSE3.

[robertwgross]

... with this horrible color cast (I think this may be the correct term) that's mostly yellow/red.


That is the glow from tungsten lighting.

---Bob Gross---