White Balance Auto or Cloudy

Here are 2 pictures - one was using Auto White Balance and one Cloudy...
Which one do you like better?

#1 - Tv 1/640 f4.5 ISO-80 White Balance = Cloudy

Interesting question. I like both but I also do not like to skew reality with PP or camera adjustments. Question, which depicts the way the field looked to the eye?

It's a mood thing #1 looks friendly where # 2 looks forbidding, I like #1

I agree with hnikesch - but it's really about the mood or impression that you are trying to convey. What you are attempting I would consider art, and as we all know art tends to be subjective .

That being said, #2 is probably more accurate regarding WB since the whites appear "cleaner." And in #1, was it really cloudy? I see clouds, but I believe they mean overcast cloudy with that setting. Again though, it's your interpretation of what you are trying to portray to the audience. In that regard none of these are wrong. Thank you for sharing. - Stu

hnikesch wrote in post #7942519
It's a mood thing #1 looks friendly where # 2 looks forbidding, I like #1

originalstarlite wrote in post #7942012
Interesting question. I like both but I also do not like to skew reality with PP or camera adjustments. Question, which depicts the way the field looked to the eye?

Thanks originalstarlite!
I would say reality was somewhere in between the two pictures.

hnikesch wrote in post #7942519
It's a mood thing #1 looks friendly where # 2 looks forbidding, I like #1

Thanks hnikesch!
Amazing how WB can effect an image - I guess that's what I was trying to demonstrate.

sapearl wrote in post #7942533
I agree with hnikesch - but it's really about the mood or impression that you are trying to convey. What you are attempting I would consider art, and as we all know art tends to be subjective .

That being said, #2 is probably more accurate regarding WB since the whites appear "cleaner." And in #1, was it really cloudy? I see clouds, but I believe they mean overcast cloudy with that setting. Again though, it's your interpretation of what you are trying to portray to the audience. In that regard none of these are wrong. Thank you for sharing. - Stu

Thank you Stu!
You said it very well!

Like Stu said, it's all in what you want. I suspect that, since like he said it wasn't really cloudy in the sense the "cloudy" WB setting is intended for, and the scene lacks a full range of colours that using "Sunny" would have given you somewhere in between the two examples, and a closer approximation of the "true" colours.

The first one gets my vote. It is more vivid and bright.

The second one looks kind of washed out. If I had taken the second image I would have adjusted it in Photoshop to look like the first one.

Thank you Jon .

I like number one m uch more.

Wow what a great question and a very realistic question at that. I myself take a great deal of these types of “outdoor” pictures and struggle with the same question, do I make the photo look “natural” or “spectacular”


The first picture looks like a one you would expect to see in the Time-Life book “America the Beautiful” or on the cover of a religious tract magazine proclaiming the bountiful “bread-basket” of the heartland whereas the second picture looks more natural and rustic in its “natural” setting and even causes one to look for a cowboy on a horse somewhere in the distance.


Although they both are nice I have to say that picture number one is much more exciting, inviting and comfortable “feeling” therefore I vote for it if we are just taking general props. I also agree with others when they say it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish with the photo, maybe rustic is what you are trying to achieve and in that case number 2 would be the winner.

Thanks everybody for your posts! I guess #1 is the winner!
James I sure like your description of 'America the beautiful' - I guess Canada is part of America too - lol!

Happy shooting!

I like number 1 too..

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Sorry didn’t pay attention you live in Canada, and you’re correct it is still “AMERICA” (North America)

I remember as a child my family having a hard cover book title “America the Beautiful” and it had all these amazing and stunning pictures of natural beauty all across the USA and that was the first thing that came to mind when seeing your picture #1. Great Job!

____

Speaking of Canada, the first thing that comes to mind when Canada is mention is my childhood memories of Doug & Bob McKenzie – “The McKenzie Brothers”.

“Take off Eh!”

“Oh no you didn’t, you take off hoser”

“No you!”

(Song playing) “Take off to the Great White North, Take off it’s the beauty way t go…”

Now I will be signing that song all night long Ha!

(Sorry I digress)

Funny - normally I prefer warmer color balance, but at a quick glance I liked #2 better. The only reason I can figure is that I have scenery like that near my home and pass by/through it often, and #2 looks closer to how I see it in real life. I think some landscapes work better for artistic interpretation than others - but it's such a subjective thing, who's to say what is "right" or "wrong"?

Agreed - so much of art is often from your own personal viewpoint, from your own reference of experience.

Veemac wrote in post #7950355
.....I have scenery like that near my home and pass by/through it often, and #2 looks closer to how I see it in real life. I think some landscapes work better for artistic interpretation than others - but it's such a subjective thing, who's to say what is "right" or "wrong"?