I have just been trying a few things out as the weather is so awful, and took a few pics of the flowers in the garden,on checking the RGB histogram,I noticed that the blue channel was well to the left,so I decided to adjust the WB temp,its always been on auto,and so I cooled things down and watched the histogram move to the right.
I then loaded the images in to the PC, and I have to say that the cooled down image was much nearer the actual outdoor view.Now the question, is this the right thing to do or should I be doing some thing else to get the colour as natural as possible.I am on Adobe RGD in camera which is a D200??
Thanks for any help.
Stewart......................
Stewart, if shooting in Raw mode the white balance that's set in camera won't have any effect on the actual Raw file itself.The difference you are seeing on the camera's lcd screen and histogram is just based on a jpeg.
To get the most accurate colour you can include a Gretag Macbeth colour checker chart or a grey card or sheet of white paper in one of your shots,you can then use this image during the raw conversion stage to set an accurate white balance.This method should work well if the light temperature remains constant,otherwise fresh readings will need to be taken at regular intervals.
Another method,or rather the same as above but in a different fashion,would be to take a custom white balance off of your white/grey card and set this in camera,again remembering to re-adjust if the light changes.Doesn't really matter which way round you do things,they both achieve the same result.
Should you just wish to rely on your own instinct of what feels and looks right,then just shoot away ensuring an optimum exposure,or exposing to the right if you prefer that method,and then just adjust the colour temperature at the raw conversion stage untill what you see (on a calibrated monitor) is what you want.
If colour accuracy is paramount then the first method would be a good choice,IMHO.
Hi Justin..
Thanks for that,the only bit of confusion is that in bridge in CS3 are the thumbnails still Jpegs? as when I open them in ACR I can still see the difference between each images??
Stewart...............
the images you see in bridge are what you set in camera, (so i guess based on a jpeg). i ALWAYS ALWAYS do a white balance with a white card (some people use grey, not sure what your preference would be?). and then change it if the light changes.
i've never tried the way justin suggested, seems quite complicated to me (?not that that says much?!??) and i think if you use that, you will need a calibrated monitor, which you will need anyway if you're outputting to print.
pre-shoot white balance is extremely easy and only takes the same time it would take to make one normal shot.
you can override the white balance settings in bridge, but i think these are only clunky presets (dont know for sure).
hope this helps,
mark.
Posted by Andy Astbury on July 1, 2007 at 10:41 AM
In ACR you'd be better doing a custom preset with all the auto boxes unchecked - make the custom preset into the default and then it won't make the changes to your pics in Bridge.
(IMHO) - You really do need to get away from Bridge and ACR - they are pretty awful in comparison to RAW handlers such as Capture One Pro and the like
Discussion
7 repliesI then loaded the images in to the PC, and I have to say that the cooled down image was much nearer the actual outdoor view.Now the question, is this the right thing to do or should I be doing some thing else to get the colour as natural as possible.I am on Adobe RGD in camera which is a D200??
Thanks for any help.
Stewart......................
To get the most accurate colour you can include a Gretag Macbeth colour checker chart or a grey card or sheet of white paper in one of your shots,you can then use this image during the raw conversion stage to set an accurate white balance.This method should work well if the light temperature remains constant,otherwise fresh readings will need to be taken at regular intervals.
Another method,or rather the same as above but in a different fashion,would be to take a custom white balance off of your white/grey card and set this in camera,again remembering to re-adjust if the light changes.Doesn't really matter which way round you do things,they both achieve the same result.
Should you just wish to rely on your own instinct of what feels and looks right,then just shoot away ensuring an optimum exposure,or exposing to the right if you prefer that method,and then just adjust the colour temperature at the raw conversion stage untill what you see (on a calibrated monitor) is what you want.
If colour accuracy is paramount then the first method would be a good choice,IMHO.
Thanks for that,the only bit of confusion is that in bridge in CS3 are the thumbnails still Jpegs? as when I open them in ACR I can still see the difference between each images??
Stewart...............
I'll have to let someone else answer that one as I'm not familiar with CS3 or ACR.
stewart,
the images you see in bridge are what you set in camera, (so i guess based on a jpeg). i ALWAYS ALWAYS do a white balance with a white card (some people use grey, not sure what your preference would be?). and then change it if the light changes.
i've never tried the way justin suggested, seems quite complicated to me (?not that that says much?!??) and i think if you use that, you will need a calibrated monitor, which you will need anyway if you're outputting to print.
pre-shoot white balance is extremely easy and only takes the same time it would take to make one normal shot.
you can override the white balance settings in bridge, but i think these are only clunky presets (dont know for sure).
hope this helps,
mark.
(IMHO) - You really do need to get away from Bridge and ACR - they are pretty awful in comparison to RAW handlers such as Capture One Pro and the like
It's exactly the same as your method Mark,perhaps just explained a little differently