White balance

What is the best way to get a correct white balance in PS. Is there a science to it or do you guys just eye ball it as you move the slider? Something always seems a bit off when I try to do it

Best way is to get it as right as possible in the camera using a grey card or some method to do custom white balance.

thanks for the info but i am more concerned about fixing the white balance in photoshop

Sorry, not much help with how to do it in Photoshop. I shoot RAW and fix all WB issues in Aperture.

Crteate a curves adjustment layer. Don't touch the actual curve.

You'll see three eyedroppers, a black, grey and white one.

With the black eyedropper, click on something that should be completely black. With the grey, click on something that should be a mid tone grey. And with the whiote, click on something that shgould be a white.

That will do most of the work for you.

lbcyalater wrote in post #10169307
thanks for the info but i am more concerned about fixing the white balance in photoshop

For what kind of subject. It matters.

Ideally, you should have a "white balance target" in the scene...something that is supposed to be gray, not perfectly "middle gray" but not too dark or too light (black and white can often be made to work, but it's not ideal).

You can juggle color balance to give you equal RGB values on the gray tone. Using a gray target in the scene is, by the way, the very best way to handle color balance for the most critical requirements--it can be used to management throughout the entire process all the way to final printing to a catalog or billboard, not just at capture.

However, if the subject is human, the goal is often "pleasing" color balance rather than "accurate" color balance, and that is very often a matter of experienced eyeballing for intended effect.

Yeah I'm trying to move away from shooting RAW just for WB correction too. Trying to step up my game to getting it right with a JPG straight in the camera--no PP if possible. Gona need some mad practice.

I shoot RAW and use the white balance tool in Camera Raw. Just click on something that's supposed to be white (not blown out white, but actual white). Works great. Sometimes it's a bit too cool for my taste so I'll warm it up by moving the temperature slider a little to the right.

Otherwise I use one of these to white balance before I start shooting:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_24_One_Shot_Di​gital.html

Shooting in Raw is the easiest way to fix white balance.

If you master RAW-conversion, it's actually a lot faster than working in jpeg. When setting the correct white balance for a serie of jpegs you have to do them all separate, or copy the curve layer. In Raw you just set the correct color temperature.

I always use a white balance reference card when shooting models. Every time the setup or a color in the setting changes, I take a picture of the card. Afterwards in Lightroom I set the correct white balance for more than 350 pictures in less then 5 minutes. How long would it take when using jpeg?

Uh oh.....here comes the RAW vs JPG debate.

There are no trophies for that.

Set a white balance in camera useing a set card