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White Balance - Photography Tips

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White Balance - Photography Tips

. . ★ . . :: Let's talk about White Balance . . you are welcome to add your thoughts and share your process in a comment below :: . .

I always shoot in RAW . post production in photoshop and/or lightroom to reveal the colours will help tremendously . .
Use a very subtle super light touch when processing your images making adjustments to your temperature and tint to maintain natural colours unless you are going for a more creative approach .

About colours . .

Adjust your hues using your slider on the HSL / Grayscale for a creative split-tone effect which often is effective for brightening colours . .
Adjust Luminance on specific colours to brighten or deepen colours as well as to add depth and dimension to the image . .
I almost never touch saturation . . if you do . take care to not saturate too much when you are trying to maintain a more natural appearance to your final image . .
Vibrancy is also something you would want to be very careful with as it will flatten your image . .
Black and White is a wonderful choice to "save" an image which has turned out to be overall flat . . .

Mostly focus on White Balance / Hue / Luminance and Curves . . .
Then if you like you could make adjustments in Split Toning for more creative expression . . .

White balance is so important in all circumstances . especially in low light conditions . ie. overcast "grey" skies . . Yet in all light conditions it is so important . .
Light is the key for beautiful photography and when the sun is not cooperating you must meter correctly for the lower light conditions (using a tripod helps tremendously)

You may make post production changes for your white balance to adjust your colour casts by making adjustments in temperature and tint .
Many images have a colour cast and you can solve this issue by adjusting your white balance . . especially when you have a very cool colours with winter skies or shadows . you may warm them up a bit and brighten them by adjusting your temperature and tint . .

For in-camera white balance options your DLSR has presets and Auto is much too unpredictable . . . basically an auto setting on your camera is your camera telling you what colour white is . .
You want to tell your camera what white is . . When shooting outdoors or especially indoors setting your white balance is important . .

For your camera settings try selecting your camera White Balance mode on Shade or Cloudy to warm things up a bit . .
You may choose to create your own white balance preset . . .

Then make adjustments in photoshop and/or Lightroom to your white balance by adjusting the temperature | tine | highlights | midtones and shadows . .
Use Parametric on your Tone Curve to make adjustments then also use Point . play with it until you like the results . .
Always remember never to touch your original images . . only process copies of your work to preserve the integrity of your portfolio .
That is one of the things I really love about Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom . . there is no photo degradation . .
You can make endless copies of your work with many variations for your final images . . .

In Photoshop for Curves you may choose on your drop-down tab Medium Contrast | Strong Contrast | Linear . . or Custom . .
Slide your points and adjust the curves until you like what you see . . .
Lower your contrast and adjust the blacks and/or clarity to soften an image . .

You may choose to use a vignette to create an interesting effect for focusing the eye on the light within your image . .

Create your own presets . . . they are a tremendous resource you may custom create to save yourself time in your work flow . .



Using lens filters will help as well in all light conditions . . . . .
These are only a few suggestions to help you . . . .

I shoot in RAW . often use lens filters and tripod . . try to get everything as perfect as possible in-camera when I initially take the photograph . . then post-process in Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended and finish my images in Adobe Lightroom 5.5 :: . . ★ . .

. . . . ★ . .

Colour correction cards || colour calibrated reference cards are handy
. . do you create your own or purchase them?


Photoshop Elements
Applies to: Colour and camera raw
Adobe Community Help
Using the histogram and RGB values in camera raw
White balance controls for camera raw
Tonal and image adjustments in camera raw files
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/using/color-camera-raw.html


:: more useful links and resources :: . .

DGK Color Tools DKK 5" x 7" Set of 2 White Balance and Colour Calibration Charts with 12% and 18% Gray - Includes Frame Stand and User Guide
http://www.amazon.com/DGK-Color-Tools-Balance-Calibration/dp/B00AWT2QCE/ref=pd_sim_p_6/176-7804790-5800554?ie=UTF8&refRID=0QYW49PT3W69BG0GF5H3

Introduction to White Balance
http://digital-photography-school.com/introduction-to-white-balance/

Using White Balance to Control Colour Casts
http://www.red.com/learn/red-101/color-cast-tutorial

Adobe Controlling White Balance Video Tutorials
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-lightroom-5/controlling-white-balance/

http://pixels.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1955727

18 June 2014
Sharon Mau

*****************************

. this is an interesting forum on Histogram: Luminosity and Colour
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread37685.htm


. :: more Colour Calibration Charts resources :: . .


http://www.amazon.com/Color-Calibration-Charts/b?ie=UTF8&node=3109910011

http://www.kayellaustralia.com.au/colour-calibration-cards-c-203_239.html


http://www.photoreview.com.au/tips/shooting/Getting-Colour-Balance-Right
. . :: Getting Colour Balance Right :: . .
"Although cameras with manual white balance measurement systems can provide almost cast-free colour photographs, there are times when additional colour reference tools should also be used to ensure you achieve a correct colour balance in any shooting situation. Including a colour balance reference target in shots is particularly handy if you shoot JPEGs. It's less important for raw file shooters because colour tweaking is possible when converting raw files to editable formats. However, having a target in a reference shot can make the task quicker and easier when you're editing image files."

Creative White Balance
Control the relative colour tonalities in your photos to create a better sense of mood and atmosphere
https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/nature-landscapes/creative-white-balance/

Photoshop Elements
Applies to: Colour and camera raw
Adobe Community Help
Using the histogram and RGB values in camera raw
White balance controls for camera raw
Tonal and image adjustments in camera raw files
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/using/color-camera-raw.html


:: more useful links and resources :: . .

DGK Color Tools DKK 5" x 7" Set of 2 White Balance and Colour Calibration Charts with 12% and 18% Gray - Includes Frame Stand and User Guide
http://www.amazon.com/DGK-Color-Tools-Balance-Calibration/dp/B00AWT2QCE/ref=pd_sim_p_6/176-7804790-5800554?ie=UTF8&refRID=0QYW49PT3W69BG0GF5H3

Introduction to White Balance
http://digital-photography-school.com/introduction-to-white-balance/

Using White Balance to Control Colour Casts
http://www.red.com/learn/red-101/color-cast-tutorial

Adobe Controlling White Balance Video Tutorials
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-lightroom-5/controlling-white-balance/

. . ★ . . Colour correction cards || colour calibrated reference cards are handy




If any of these suggestions and tips help you let me know with a comment . . .


Aloha

Sharon Mau
http://sharon-mau.pixels.com