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03/02/2006 02:21:24 PM · #1 |
f.y.i. this is a "please teach me" thread, not a complaint thread.
This was my photo in the fashion challenge:
Please ignore the focus issue. I'm concerned about lighting. One commentor said "White ballance seems a bit off giving a yellowing overall hue." And other people mentioned the light being too yellow.
The subject was standing in sunlight coming through a window, though there were also indoor lights (just regular bulb light). I then used curves to up the contrast a bit.
1. What is white balance and was that really the problem here?
2. Should I have lit her differently or should I have done something different in post-processing?
3. I actually liked the yellowness; I thought it was warm. What do you think is wrong about the yellow? Or do you? Maybe pros and cons, or when it's good, when it's bad? |
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03/02/2006 02:30:31 PM · #2 |
Your Rebel XT should be like my Rebel. You can set a custom white balance on it. Basically, you take something white (I use the back of a piece of matboard) and you take a picture of it in the the light you will be shooting in. Then in the setup menu of the camera, you select Custom White Balance (or WB). It will askyou to select your "white" photo. At this point you will probablynotice that your "white" photois really yellow. Select it, exit the menu, change your white balance setting to custom and reshoot your white card. It will now appear much whiter.
You will need to do this each time your lighting situation changes. And don't forget to set it back to Auto or whatever other setting you use when you are done.
CHeck your manual. It explains it well. You will see a HUGE difference. I know I did when I started using it.
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03/02/2006 02:37:24 PM · #3 |
White balance says what color a white object shows up as when you take a picture of it. In this shot, it looks like her collar and sleeve were originally white. but b/c the white balance was askew there's a yellow tint to the white. The easiest way to fix this (but it doesn't always work) it to run auto curves. this should automatically find the intended whites and make them white, and the same with the blacks...
This is what the auto white balance looks like:
easier than fixing this, however, is setting the proper WB in your camera. if you're in a studio setting you can set your own white balance by filling the frame with a white, or neutral grey card, under the same lighting conditions your model/subject will be in. then you can set that as your custom white balance in your menu, and you should be go to go...
now if you wanted the yellow tint, then none of this really matters, but you asked what white balance was... =]
Message edited by author 2006-03-02 14:40:33. |
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03/02/2006 02:41:49 PM · #4 |
| yes yes, that was very helpful. thank you! |
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03/02/2006 02:52:56 PM · #5 |
A related question, though: If you set the white balance for every different lighting situation, will that make all kinds of lighting seem the same? Do you see what I'm getting at? I'm worried about ruining the quality of a special kind of lighting situation, like sunrise or sunset, for example.
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03/02/2006 02:57:46 PM · #6 |
No, it won't make it the same, it will make it look RIGHT, the way it really should look.
Edited to add: I'm surprised nobody has mentioned shooting in RAW yet. That will solve all your white balance problems, as you can choose your white balance AFTER the fact, on the computer.
That way, you can either have it "right", or even "wrong" if you find that to be the better choice at the time.
Message edited by author 2006-03-02 14:59:33. |
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03/02/2006 02:58:16 PM · #7 |
I shoot auto WB 99.9% of the time, and have no problems.
The problem is in mixed light - all sun in fine, but part sun and part light bulb is a problem.
Sun and flash are 'daylight' in WB terms. A regular light bulb is incandescent, and flourescent lights are their own color too. It's when these lights are mixed that that you get issues that you cannot resolve easily.
A custom WB is the best solotion regardless, but not always practical. Ihave yet to do a custom WB on my rebel, had it over a year. If yoiu shoot RAW dona WB adjustment is a one click deal. Shooting JPG makes it much more difficult.
Message edited by author 2006-03-02 14:59:55.
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