before/after of a random flower shot

i just took this pic this evening and tried to improve it via PS CS3. i'm just starting out in all aspects (from taking the shot to editing)...

shot details: kit lens, manual mode, 1/80, 5.6, iso 400, 55mm, WB=auto

before:

You've got a bit of a yellow color cast in your picture. You might want to check the White Balance setting in your camera. Anyway, I did a bit of color correction and a pretty aggressive crop to get rid of all that negative space in the frame. I know that wasn't what you were asking asking, but I couldn't resist. Hope you don't mind

PS: It's not a great crop. I did it on the fly, but you get the idea. Play around with it and see what you come up with.

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The color balance does look a bit off in all 3 pictures.

Which is closest to being correct? Is there any way to be sure?

Of course! A simple Grey Card is all that is needed for a Custom White Balance. It is amazing how correct color balance gives the image enhanced reality and 3-dimensionality by virture of the colors showing as they should instead of being distorted.

thank you for the comments. i definitely need to give a grey card a try soon. the pic was taken at sunset, so the colors had more yellow/orange to begin with...but i agree, it's hard to tell what is "right".

i'll read up on the grey card usage and start practicing!

gecko0 wrote in post #5879385
thank you for the comments. i definitely need to give a grey card a try soon. the pic was taken at sunset, so the colors had more yellow/orange to begin with...but i agree, it's hard to tell what is "right".

i'll read up on the grey card usage and start practicing!

*************Gray Card***************
Tutorial on Use of the Gray Card for Exposure and White Balance:
http://www.zaffora.com​/W9DMK/GrayCardTutoria​l.htm
or the downloadable PDF version:
http://www.zaffora.com​/W9DMK/GrayCardTutoria​l.pdf

If the references above are too heavy for you, let me know & I can probably give you something specific to your camera. Either way, for doing color balance it need not be an 18% grey card (that's only needed for getting exposures nailed down). For Custom White Balance the card only has to be "neutral" - i.e., no color cast.

I like the crop that walkingman did... i feel the original is too busy.