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White Balance Query


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I am color blind, and I've tried what I could to get good color.  I've been using the S2P and 120MM for a few years to photograph my orchids.  My Q arrived the other day, and I feel a need to ensure better color.  My brother in law shoots in RAW and can adjust the WB in Lightroom as needed.  I can't.  What I see is different than him.

 

I thought that since the Q has the dedicated WB function, I could rely on that.  But I understand that I would have to shoot in jpeg not RAW.

 

Maybe I can shoot a separate image including a WB card to capture the scene's color.

 

Additionally, I am not as computer savvy as everyone else, here.  I am relatively new to digital photography.  It's just that I have always shot the best photographic equipment.  Hence my shooting Leica.

 

What should I do to get good color when I can't see when it is correct?

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Shoot a grey card and use that for white balance. Use it again when the light changes. That will give you a completely neutral rendering by using the colour balance eye-dropper tool.  You can make the shot warmer or colder by using the yellow-blue (top) white balance slider for 100-200 degrees Kelvin.

There is no need to revert to jpg. Actually it is a bad idea if you want to preserve flexibility. The auto function and the as-shot function are available in your raw converter.

The only advantage of jpg is that it will give you an instant out-of-camera acceptable result.

 

An alternative is to use the camera like you would use a film camera. I.e. set it to "daylight"  (or "tungsten" as the case may be) and let the colours fall as they may. That will preserve atmosphere at the cost of colour accuracy.

 

Getting into full colour editing in Photoshop is possible for a colour-blind person, but requires in-depth knowledge of colour theory and Photoshop techniques and the use of the LAB colour space. Dan Margulis addresses this specific aspect in his book "Modern Photoshop Colour Workflow" - this is for advanced users only - and hopefully an incentive to become an advanced user ;).

 

Just a thought though: It might be more interesting to shoot the world as you see it, not as you think we would like to see it. Photography is about your vision.

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Yes, a very difficult problem.  Endless treatises are written on Colour, but I'm trying to be practical for you.

 

You may have to accept carrying a white balance card, and shooting a frame in "Manual White Balance", available in most cameras now.  I often use a white handkerchief, which is convenient.  But it is important that your target is actually measuring the light, for which you are balancing.  For example, it's no good taking a manual balance of the direct sunlight if you are photographing a garden with a lot of green colour...you will need to read the target which is also collecting some garden green light.

 

A  "colorchecker", by X-rite, will allow manual colour to be set in the field.  Or use "auto white balance" and take a picture of the swatches, to correct in post processing. The X-rites are a bit clunky but  fold away, and fit the pocket.

 

Most photographers here will probably say to use raw files, but I find working in both jpg+raw will allow the use of either file. Non-destructive editing of your images is important...always keep the original.  This is where Light Room really excels.

 

Every one sees colour a bit differently, and the final result is usually acceptable within a range.  Sickly shadow greens are generally not acceptable, for example.  Luminous orange skin tones don't do much for me either.  Mixed stage lighting is accepted for what it is, and bright blue faces are fine!

 

There are only certain instances, I believe, when colour fidelity is a tantamount...like photographing art for a publication.  It took me ages recently to get that "perfect".

 

Good luck.  Open a thread in a few months and let us know of your experiences.  It's a very interesting problem.

 

cheers Dave S

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Whi Bal card which is a sophisticated grey card.   Put in same light as subject and do white bal. Expo Disk also decent.

 

Have someone with good color vision balance for you and can you then copy??

 

The old tried and true and long forgotten is use levels.   Each channel , r,g,&b, separately.  Click the left end of histogram with black point dropper,  right end with white point.  Repeat for each channel.   This is slow & tedious,  but almost always works.   It even works with pics containing dominant colors like green which will throw off auto WB.

 

http://www.bairarteditions.com/pages/tutorials/photoshop/cblevels.html  

 

Google for "How to white balance with levels" for more.

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