White balance strategy

[wdwmagic]

How do you guys deal with white balance?

Assuming RAW, do you attempt to get things right in camera at the time of shoot, let the camera go auto WB, or leave it auto and sort it out later in post?

Do you often find once in post that the in-camera auto WB wasn't the best choice?

 

[s8film40]

I've always used auto WB. If I saw some mixed lighting in the image and wanted to balance it better I might adjust it and reshoot. For the most part though I just make adjustments later in post.

 

[sporadic]

Most of the time, I just leave it on auto and adjust in post if needed. Usually you can nail it for one photo using the eyedropper on a reference, then sync the setting to a series of photos in a scene. The trick is finding a good gray reference, but there's usually one somewhere. Sometimes the whites of the eyes can be a good start. For strobe stuff at home or staged shots, I usually shoot a gray card first then use that in post as my reference.

 

[gsrjedi]

I also use auto. I'm happy with it for like 95% of my shots, and like sporadic said if it's off Lightroom is easy enough to sync the white balance on a group of shots

 

[NowInc]

Auto. RAW makes it an irrelevant factor as it can correct white balance with ease. Also, a lot of times I will alter the white balance for a certain effect depending on the image.

 

[fractal]

I shoot RAW and have WB set to Auto. Using an EVF you can tell pretty easily if the AWB is off. If it's off I set the WB to "custom" and try to find a gray area to take a shot with. This has never failed me in getting correct WB.
My lens cloth is also conveniently gray in case I can't find a gray wall, etc.

Even with correct WB I often play around in post to get the look I like. Lately I've been preferring a "colder" look.

 

[Lord_Vader]

If you are truly worried about very accurate WB, get a cheap grey card or use a grey card app.

Generally I adjust in post if necessary, for extreme light issues for some M&G locations I use an app to avoid carrying a card.

 

[NowInc]

Heres my "cheap-o-photographer" tip for the day...

Don't want to spend $100+ on a photography color card? Go to home depot/lowes. The paint section has sample swatches that are incredibly color matched (they have to be) and are free to take Get the colors you need and cut and paste them onto some foamcore.

 

[sporadic]

Heres my "cheap-o-photographer" tip for the day...

Don't want to spend $100+ on a photography color card? Go to home depot/lowes. The paint section has sample swatches that are incredibly color matched (they have to be) and are free to take Get the colors you need and cut and paste them onto some foamcore.

For my "gray card", I use a formica sample - North Sea D90-60 from Wilsonart Laminate. They use to mail out 2x3 samples for free, not sure if they still do - http://www.knick-knack.com/howto/camera/cheap-color-balance-card.html

 

[Allen C]

I'm always on Auto WB. As long as I shoot RAW I find that WB is the easiest to "fix" in post.

 

[thomas998]

How do you guys deal with white balance?

Assuming RAW, do you attempt to get things right in camera at the time of shoot, let the camera go auto WB, or leave it auto and sort it out later in post?

Do you often find once in post that the in-camera auto WB wasn't the best choice?

Auto when at Disney because I never know what kind of lighting I'm going to have, but if I know it will be florescent or tungsten at a particular place I am at I will adjust it, but only because when I'm looking at shots I've taken where I am I prefer them to look at least close to what I am seeing.

 

[PhotoDave219]

How do you guys deal with white balance?

Assuming RAW, do you attempt to get things right in camera at the time of shoot, let the camera go auto WB, or leave it auto and sort it out later in post?

Do you often find once in post that the in-camera auto WB wasn't the best choice?

I stick with Auto white balance for the most part. 90% of the time it works out well, the other 10% is usually a mixed lighting situation where you have multiple light sources of varying temps.

 

[donsullivan]

I typically stick with Auto and 'most' of the time it's pretty accurate. Since I always shoot RAW, it's pretty easy to fix most shots in LR. Most of my white balance issues are typically me not paying enough attention to that attribute of the photo vs the camera missing it when it take the shot.