How do you import a personal W/B file into DPP

I`m trying to import a file/picture from my PC into DPP, but it wont read it.
I changed the file to a .vrw extension, but it still wont read it.

Anyone know how I can take a shot and import it into the DPP software, so I don`t need to use a grey card in each shot. Thanks.

I can't see what good it would do to have a white balance file except for images all shot under the exact same lighting -- and, in that case, you can create an in-camera custom WB. The average photo gray card typically has a slight color bias, so if you are interested in more precise WB, I would use something designed specifically for the purpose such as an x-rite card, expo disk, or WhiBal card. Eighteen percent reflectance gray cards (a.k.a. middle gray) are primarily for exposure setting although the high quality ones will also do a good job in setting white balance. One other consideration is that incident light is almost never uniformly consistent throughout an image except in carefully managed studio lighting conditions.

p.s., I am not sure why you are not opening the image file as a CR2 file? Changing extensions will not solve anything. Are you really asking about VREAM script command language files?

Bill Boehme wrote in post #8596482
I am not sure why you are not opening the image file as a CR2 file? Changing extensions will not solve anything. Are you really asking about VREAM script command language files?

Because DPP will only allow that file ext. to add a custom W/B file.
I have a picture of 18% grey and want to add it to the W/B files so I can set W/B without having the card in every shot.
I don`t use photo shop. I use the Canon DPP software to PP all my Canon images.

I think that you might be selecting the wrong option in DPP to set a custom WB. Also, you can't normally change the extension of a file type to make it work. The *.VRW is a scripting language file (sort of like an XMP or TXT file type) while the CR2 is a binary image file. I have the impression that you are selecting the <Import> button and have changed the extension on a CR2 image of a gray card to make it a VRW file. If so, that is not the correct procedure. Here is the procedure for creating a Custom White Balance in DPP:

• • Shoot an image of a reference card (either x-rite, gretagmacbeth, expo disc, WhiBal, sheet of white copy paper, or a high quality 18% reflectance gray card)
    
  • In DPP, use the eyedropper or color wheel or the color temperature to set a custom WB.
    
  • Next, click the <Register> button.
    
  • Instead of clicking on the <Import> option, click on <OK>.
    
  • It should then be registered as personal custom white balance 1.
    
  • I am not a DPP expert, so I don't know if it can be given a unique name since the drop down menu is for shooting styles and not just white balance.
    
  • Possibly you might be wanting to use Canon's Picture Style Editor. You start with one of the existing styles and then modify it with your own WB, etc. You can then save it with a name of your choice.

You can go to the Download Library on Canon's web site to download the Picture Style Editor.

Bill Boehme wrote in post #8599274
I think that you might be selecting the wrong option in DPP to set a custom WB. Also, you can't normally change the extension of a file type to make it work. The *.VRW is a scripting language file (sort of like an XMP or TXT file type) while the CR2 is a binary image file. I have the impression that you are selecting the <Import> button and have changed the extension on a CR2 image of a gray card to make it a VRW file. If so, that is not the correct procedure. Here is the procedure for creating a Custom White Balance in DPP:

• • Shoot an image of a reference card (either x-rite, gretagmacbeth, expo disc, WhiBal, sheet of white copy paper, or a high quality 18% reflectance gray card)
    
  • In DPP, use the eyedropper or color wheel or the color temperature to set a custom WB.
    
  • Next, click the <Register> button.
    
  • Instead of clicking on the <Import> option, click on <OK>.
    
  • It should then be registered as personal custom white balance 1.
    
  • I am not a DPP expert, so I don't know if it can be given a unique name since the drop down menu is for shooting styles and not just white balance.
    
  • Possibly you might be wanting to use Canon's Picture Style Editor. You start with one of the existing styles and then modify it with your own WB, etc. You can then save it with a name of your choice.

Hopefully this is what you are looking for. Note that just like color temperatures, this setting will only be good for the same lighting conditions as the shot made for the reference card.

Everybody's preferences are different, but for me when it is important, I will just shoot two pictures -- one with a WhiBal card or an x-rite card and another without the card. Most of the time, I use AWB and then use personal judgment in post processing to adjust WB if I feel that it needs tweaking.

Yep. Thanks for your help.....
Thanks for the tutorial also...........

drdiesel1 wrote in post #8596652
I have a picture of 18% grey and want to add it to the W/B files so I can set W/B without having the card in every shot.

Having a stock image of a gray card won't do you any good at all. You need to have a photo of the gray card SHOT IN THE SAME LIGHT as the photos you want to tweak based on the reference card shot. That means that for each and every photo session you do you will need a different reference shot of the gray card - done in the same light as the subject was.

The .vrd file is what DPP calls a "recipe". It is a text file that records the position of every slider on the three tabs of the Tool Palette together with an instruction to the application to recreate that situation. You could put every slider at 0 and then set a custom WB and then by choosing 'Edit>Save recipe to file' create a .vrd. Loading it at another session would then restore the custom WB and zero out everything else. Or you could do the same but with the sliders set to a desired default starting point. The recipe is like a preset in LR/ACR except that you cannot command DPP to load it automatically, you have to manually load it through 'Edit>Read and paste recipe from file'.
Calling a CR2 a vrd is like hanging a sign that says "Eagle" on a pig and expecting it to fly.

SkipD wrote in post #8600563
Having a stock image of a gray card won't do you any good at all. You need to have a photo of the gray card SHOT IN THE SAME LIGHT as the photos you want to tweak based on the reference card shot. That means that for each and every photo session you do you will need a different reference shot of the gray card - done in the same light as the subject was.

Skip, I suspected that drdiesel1 might have intended to use the custom WB as a universal WB and that my response might not have emphasized my point adequately about the futility of doing so. I think that your response which drives home the point more clearly points out the uselessness of the approach. A few good tutorials would help drdiesel1 get a better understanding of WB. Here is one, for starters from WhiBal. However, there are many creative lighting situations where getting perfectly neutral light is NOT the best thing to do. For instance, when shooting a sunset or a rainbow, neutralizing the ambient light is a bad idea.

tzalman wrote in post #8600640
Calling a CR2 a vrd is like hanging a sign that says "Eagle" on a pig and expecting it to fly.

Clever "double-take" analogy, Elie.

Bill Boehme wrote in post #8600925
Skip, I suspected that drdiesel1 might have intended to use the custom WB as a universal WB and that my response might not have emphasized my point adequately about the futility of doing so. I think that your response which drives home the point more clearly points out the uselessness of the approach. A few good tutorials would help drdiesel1 get a better understanding of WB. Here is one, for starters from WhiBal. However, there are many creative lighting situations where getting perfectly neutral light is NOT the best thing to do. For instance, when shooting a sunset or a rainbow, neutralizing the ambient light is a bad idea.

Clever "double-take" analogy, Elie.

Yes. I see the futility of my plan.....Thanks everyone.
I like your idea of taking 2 shots with and without the card. I guess that will be my method to resolve this issue.
I have been looking at the Whibal card, but wanted to know more about using it before buying one.

drdiesel1 wrote in post #8601272
Yes. I see the futility of my plan.....Thanks everyone.
I like your idea of taking 2 shots with and without the card. I guess that will be my method to resolve this issue.
I have been looking at the Whibal card, but wanted to know more about using it before buying one.

The WhiBal and other white balance devices are great for product shots and portraits. For landscape shots, I mainly see what AWB produces and then go from there with creative white balance. Sometimes AWB fails miserably, but most of the time it is in the right ballpark.

Bill Boehme wrote in post #8601655
The WhiBal and other white balance devices are great for product shots and portraits. For landscape shots, I mainly see what AWB produces and then go from there with creative white balance. Sometimes AWB fails miserably, but most of the time it is in the right ballpark.

Yeah. I shoot Neutral and AWB and adjust as needed in DPP, but I was looking for a better-way for portrait work. I just ordered the WhiBal cards.
I shoot mostly in direct sunlight and find it to be accurate enough.
I change the style to match what look I`m after.