WORLDWIDE PHOTO WEEK: Part 396 - Sweets

What is wrong with my white balance?! The chocolate was on a plain white plate. On the LCD screen, it looked fine. On the computer, the plate was too blue. To counteract that, I slid the temperature slider a little toward the amber end. As you see, parts of the background (the plate) are too orangey, parts are too bluish, and the deepest shadows are blue for sure.

This was indoors, near a big window. WB was set to Cloudy. It seems to me that one WB setting should do for the whole frame.

Not the best of pics, but seem to eat a lot of these during the Holidays, including this once box full.

IMAGE LINK: http://imageshack.us/p​hoto/my-images/707/mjlp.jpg/

OhLook wrote in post #16547679
What is wrong with my white balance?! The chocolate was on a plain white plate. On the LCD screen, it looked fine. On the computer, the plate was too blue. To counteract that, I slid the temperature slider a little toward the amber end. As you see, parts of the background (the plate) are too orangey, parts are too bluish, and the deepest shadows are blue for sure.

This was indoors, near a big window. WB was set to Cloudy. It seems to me that one WB setting should do for the whole frame.

I agree..it should have worked, but I also think that you gave yourself a challenge with white on white. Perhaps full metering with auto may have been better. You are getting a lot of reflection from both the window, the plate. Something behind you? Whatever were you wearing? ( and while that sounds a tad inappropriate ..it is a valid question! ). Did you reflect a color into the window. Just asking

joayne, I was wearing a brown T shirt, possibly with a gray sweater over it that I use on cold days. (I know because, at home, I wear the same thing day after day until it needs washing.) The sweater is a cardigan with a low V neck. If I had it on, some of the shirt was showing. I put a big piece of white Styrofoam behind (= beyond) the plate as a reflector. The walls are off-white. Maybe the orange on the plate is a reflection of the chocolate itself.

Reflection into the window? I don't understand. A window is supposed to transmit light, not bounce it.

I've sometimes had the same problem with macro bug shots. A bug is sitting on a uniform background, such as an outside wall, which should be the same shade from top to bottom but instead shows a gradient from greenish to pinkish, or some other pair of colors. Can't blame chocolate for that.

The camera is a G15 without an external meter.

Well your clothing was certainly neutral
Windows can be both reflective and be conducive to light depending on the source and strength of the source, no?
The biggest problem seems to be mostly in the shadow. The blue.
I can't read EXIF in my iPad

Av mode, f/4.0, 1/60 sec, EC –1/3, ISO 160

OhLook -- Here's a tip that might help in the future. If you already know it, then just disregard. Here goes .....

When using my Canon equipment (30D & G10, both obsolete), I sometimes set my white balance for individual shots. To set it, I follow the instructions in the manual -- (1) I take a shot in the same light as my subject, filling the frame with something white or with a grey card, and (2) then tell the camera to use that shot to set its white balance for following shots. This gives me a custom balance for that particular lighting.

And I'm always amazed at how much blue there is in shadows. It's especially evident (with or without a camera) in the shadows that fall on white snow.

Hope this helps.

Good practice Barbara..
I just received an 18% Whibal card for Christmas (yeah I know it's early )
If I use that I can set the WB in post .. I can always find the Black Point and the White Point, but
the Gray can be difficult

Sorry I'm late with the new Theme, but I've been out having fun for a change of pace!
I actually drove to Los Angeles and stayed 2 nights for Christmas and drove home.. tired but happy!!

New Theme

BLS wrote in post #16550862
OhLook -- Here's a tip that might help in the future. . . .

Thanks. I've used custom WB once in a while, but not that time. Whatever the WB is, I can change it in PP. What I couldn't fix and didn't understand was the difference between shades in the upper and lower parts of the frame.

I've noticed the blue in snow photos. In real life, I hardly ever see snow. Maybe the shadows are blue because the sun is low during the snowy season, so its rays come through more atmosphere and are yellower? Then the blue is what's left when the yellow light is subtracted. Just speculating.

There are some nice examples HEREof what happens when you choose different WB settings with snow shots and shadows.

Timphoto wrote in post #16551389
There are some nice examples HEREof what happens when you choose different WB settings with snow shots and shadows.

Good information, thanks. He recommends the Shade setting for snow scenes (and, presumably, white plates near windows). The closest I have is Cloudy. This camera doesn't give Kelvin numbers.

Are you shooting in RAW?

No, my software can't handle raw.