Most Accurate White Balance Technique Using LR3

Please help to share your most effective technique to get most accurate white balance using LR3 given that you are shooting with Auto White Balance setting. Thanks.

Experience. I use the WB dropper, but it usually doesn't get it quite right and sometimes gets it horribly wrong, so I just eyeball it on my calibrated monitor. I've got quite a bit of experience so I often just know the color temp to set.

Note that my aim is a pleasing image, not an accurate white balance.

Thanks Tim for helping me!!!
Where do you drop the WB Dropper, something that is grey and mostly close to 18% ; jet black ; pure white?
Since I am fairly new, I try to get the accurate WB and use it as a foundation before moving around with any other adjustments.

xrite colorchecker passport. Here are some reviews and info. If you take the time to learn what it can do, you can use this for very accurate color and warming skin tone as well. Pocket size and easy to carry around with you.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com …lorchecker-psssport.shtml

http://xritephoto.com …uct_overview.as​px?ID=1257

Tigerkn wrote in post #13066061
Thanks Tim for helping me!!!
Where do you drop the WB Dropper, something that is grey and mostly close to 18% ; jet black ; pure white?
Since I am fairly new, I try to get the accurate WB and use it as a foundation before moving around with any other adjustments.

I select the dropper then choose something white. Thing is where you sample makes a big difference - a grooms shirt, a brides dress, someones eyeball or teeth, they're all varying shades of white. That's why you pretty much have to do it by what looks good, unless you want to carry around a WB card. I don't have time for that.

I did consider dressing my assistant in 18% grey, but I don't think she'd go for that.

Thanks zerovision. I'll look into it.

zerovision wrote in post #13066116
xrite colorchecker passport. Here are some reviews and info. If you take the time to learn what it can do, you can use this for very accurate color and warming skin tone as well. Pocket size and easy to carry around with you.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com …lorchecker-psssport.shtml

http://xritephoto.com …uct_overview.as​px?ID=1257

Thanks again Tim!
Please let your assistance know that I want to take over her job and I willing to wear 18% grey or even pink if that will help with WB .

tim wrote in post #13066262
I select the dropper then choose something white. Thing is where you sample makes a big difference - a grooms shirt, a brides dress, someones eyeball or teeth, they're all varying shades of white. That's why you pretty much have to do it by what looks good, unless you want to carry around a WB card. I don't have time for that.

I did consider dressing my assistant in 18% grey, but I don't think she'd go for that.

I agree with zerovision - X-rite Color Checker Passport - I shoot both the grey card side and the colour sides at the beginning of each shoot and if the day becomes cloudy or lighting conditions change, then I probably will shoot it again. Also, if I travel to a different part of the world, e.g., Africa, then I will shoot it a few more times during the visit as lighting conditions change. Works very well for me - my 0.02¢.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

TigerKN, the idea of "accurate" White Balance is a difficult and challenging concept! This is because what we call theoretically accurate may not in fact be the "best" result!

So, for example, let's say you are shooting a scene either using all "available" light, or maybe you are using a flash but have your exposure set up to allow in enough ambient light as you can to give your shot the "ambient look". I do this all the time when shooting indoor scenes, so...

Let's say I wanted an "accurate" White Balance -- I'd use a grey card and, if shooting jpeg, I'd shoot it and use it to set the custom White Balance, or, if shooting Raw, I could alternatively shoot in AWB, say (or a preset) and then use that shot in Lightroom as my White Balance "target" using the eyedropper. But then, recall that you are dealing with either ambient light or a mix of ambient and flash, and that the purpose of exposing for the ambient light is to allow the effect on the "atmosphere" of the shot. Well, in that case, what is an "accurate" White Balance? Techically you use the grey card and set the WB, but what will that do for the "effect" of the scene and atmosphere? Well, maybe one thing, maybe another, but overall there will be a difference between technically "accurate" and, well, "good"!

Of course there are types of shooting when technically "accurate" is truly called for. Product shot and many studio shoots are examples -- nailing down an "accurate" White Balance will tend to be critical with product shooting and many glamor/portrait shooting scenarios, and in fact if you aspire to that type of shooting, well, you should be well versed in working with White Balance and in knowing when technically accurate is called for, and when maybe not...

And, here is a thread that has been active discussing use of a grey card when shooting Raw:

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1090031

If you are shooting RAW camera white balance is only used for the thumbnail image that pops up in Lightroom until you do a white balance.

After trying a number of techniques I have arrived at two that work for me.
If the shoot is color critical then I shoot an image of a color checker, either Passport or the large chart.

For weddings and other fast paced events with multiple lighting schemes I set the camera to 4700K and then import into lightroom using a preset that sets the white balance to 4700K.

Now I have a known starting point. The white balance eye dropper can be used on anything that is supposed to be a neutral color regardless of gradation, i.e. white, gray or black. Since a wedding has two central characters, I use either the bride's dress or the grooms shirt color as the starting point. Then, after hitting one or the other with the eye dropper, make whatever fine adjustments might be required and then use that WB for all the shots in that lighting scheme.

This approach lets me get WB close for a wedding shoot, along with other editing quickly.

David it sounds like what you are doing works! Good for you and thanks for posting that!

What I found particularly interesting is this statement:

"For weddings and other fast paced events with multiple lighting schemes I set the camera to 4700K and then import into lightroom using a preset that sets the white balance to 4700K."

I've never heard that type of position taken! Are we talking indoors, outdoors, or both, or do you have a separate approch for outdoor/daylight events? In the daytime I'm typically happy with AWB, although the Daylight preset is a perfectly acceptable setting and will give cosistent results, similar to your set temperature.

Interestingly, the in-camera Daylight preset WB Kelvin Temp that I just checked out was 5200, whereas the Lightroom Daylight Temp is 5500, both of course warmer than your 4700. Just data, but interesting thoughts from your post!

tim wrote in post #13066262
I did consider dressing my assistant in 18% grey, but I don't think she'd go for that.

Brilliant plan

If you hover the eye dropped over various parts of the image you can see what the result will be in the smaller preview window top left.

I just want to check with the experts here, am i right in thinking if the eye dropper is reporting an almost even reading for R, G, B (other than really low or high numbers) then thats a good place to sample from, at least as a starting point and assuming all the lighting is more or less the same?

Its how i normally do it to start with, then tweak the WB to suit how i want the image to look.

If the eye dropper is reporting an almost even reading for R, G, B, you are sampling a spot that already is about neutral.
Not what you want if you can clearly see a cast

You need to sample a point of which you know it should be neutral.

If all else fails, sample the whites of an eye.

Thanks Rene. I should have clarified that i am targeting something that i know to be white or grey, but moving the eye dropper around this are gives different readings, so im going for the most even.

IMO LR 3 doesn't nail it.....at least to my eyes, as good as 1.4 did. I mainly shoot interiors for real estate. My normal targets are....roll of paper towels on counter, white porcelain sinks, white base board or crown molding. Oh and because bathrooms are always messed up (WB wise) I'll go for toilet paper.....lol