Archives For white balance

colorbalance

How to Choose the Right White Balance

Varina Patel —  February 11, 2013

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – color balance is critically important. No matter how carefully I compose my shot in-camera, I will always – ALWAYS – check my color settings during post processing. I recommend that you do the same. Even if you set your white balance in-camera. Even if you don’t make any other adjustments. Here’s why…

Your camera can’t see a darned thing. Really. It’s completely blind. It makes color choices based upon mathematical algorithms. And no matter how good those algorithms are… no matter how advanced the equations gets… it’s still using math. It can’t see what you can see with your eyes. So take a few seconds to get your colors right. A simple adjustment can make a big difference.

The first step is the simplest – but many people skip it. While you are shooting, take your eye away from the viewfinder and look around you. Take a moment to look carefully at the colors that are really there. Is the light from the setting sun changing the color of the landscape? Is light reflecting off brilliantly colored clouds and causing a color cast on the ground around you? At first, most of us have a hard time seeing those slight changes, but over time, you can develop your vision so that you notice the colors changing around you.

Try this simple exercise… next time you are out driving just before sunset, wait until the sun is directly over one of your shoulders. Either on your right, or on your left. Then, look at the trees, buildings, or other objects on the sides of the road. When the sun is low in the sky, you’ll notice that the objects on one side of the road are painted with light. The objects on the other side will be in shadow. Can  you see the golden or magenta color cast?

This is a great comparison for those who haven’t noticed the effect before. When I point this out to new students, they are almost always surprised by it. It’s something they haven’t noticed before. Once you start to notice changing light, see if you can see the color cast that appears on the ground under a brilliant sunset. Look for the glowing golden colors that appear in a forest in the spring… especially on a wet and overcast day. Soon, you’ll be seeing subtle color changes everywhere you go.

Ok – so now that you’ve seen the colors… now that you are really noticing them, open up your file in your RAW converter, and make the necessary adjustments. Start with the default setting based upon the conditions as they were when you took the shot. Was it cloudy? Choose a cloudy setting. But don’t stop there. Look at the image. Does the color balance look just right to you? Shift the temperature slider back and forth just a little and watch what happens to your image. Pay attention to subtle color casts that appear as you adjust the slider. You need to decide if those casts are what you want for your image.

Of course, color balance is a personal artistic choice. You can choose a realistic color balance, or you can choose something “artsy”. Do you want a moody look? A warm and inviting feel to your image? It’s up to you! Experiment with it. Remember, I have only one hard and fast rule for art… If you aren’t enjoying it, you are doing it wrong.

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Apprentice-Series-Collection

The Apprentice Series

Jay Patel —  August 6, 2012

Price:  $27.00 (includes a 10% Discount)

Format:  eBooks, PDF format

Collection:  Learning to See, Vibrant Colors, What the Heck is a Histogram?

Requirement:  Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 or greater

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Complete-Collection

The Complete Collection

Jay Patel —  August 2, 2012

Price:  $70 (A $79 value!)

Format:  eBooks, PDF format including some Flash videos

Collection: Every eBook in our Collection

Requirement:  Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 or greater

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Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Selecting the Best White Balance

Jay Patel —  June 4, 2012

White balance can effect both the mood and appearance of an image. The correct white balance contribute to a finished photograph that accurately represents the original scene. The wrong color balance, on the other hand, can leave a photo looking washed out or unnatural. So, how do you select the best white balance for your photograph? While there are tool that can help you get your color balance right –  like shooting with a grey card or using software like Color Checker – these tools don’t always work perfectly. There are lots of situations where these tools just won’t work – when there is a strong natural color cast caused by reflected sunlight, for example – or when there are different light conditions in different areas of your photograph. For more reliable results, we select the best white balance based upon shooting conditions, our memory of the scene, and the mood we are trying to convey.

Take a look at the photograph above. Jay took this shot early in the morning under a heavily overcast sky. In post-processing, he selected a white balance of 5200k – which is a lot closer to the default setting for daylight condition than for cloudy ones. Jay wanted to bring out the fresh greens that he remembered from the scene – so he relied upon his memory and the mood he wanted to create.

Camera default settings – 4300K – strong blue color cast.

Default “cloudy” setting – strong yellow color cast.

What would have happened if Jay had chosen a different white balance setting? The two images above show the most likely results. The first shows the image with the default white balance selected by the camera. In this case, the camera selected a white balance of 4300K, which gives the photo a strong blue cast. This blue cast makes the flowers appear dull. The second example uses a cloudy white balance. This time the image has a strong yellow cast, and the grass appears past its prime.

Take your time when you adjust your white balance. Look at your image as you adjust the sliders and watch for unnatural color casts and dull colors. Use your memory of the scene to produce the best possible results, rather than relying on mathematical algorithms to do the work for you. Good luck!

To learn more about how to produce photograph in vibrant colors check our our eBooks below:

 

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Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Park, Washington (WA), USA

Quick Tips: Colors

Jay Patel —  March 5, 2012

One of the most frequent question we hear about our photograph is, “How do you manage to capture such vibrant colors?” The commonly held belief is that the photograph must be manipulated in post-processing to get such brilliant colors. While, some post-processing is necessary to bring out the colors you see in the photograph, in most cases, it’s as simple as selecting the proper white balance. The art of capturing vibrant colors beings in the field.

Take a look at the two photographs above. Both photographs were taken in the same location in Olympic National Park… so why are the colors in the photograph on the left more vibrant and natural than the one on the right? The photograph on the left was taken in spring on a day when the skies were overcast. The soft, scattered light helps bring out the brilliant colors of the newly formed leaves. The photograph on the right was taken during a summer afternoon in the harsh lighting conditions produced by clear blue skies at midday. The resulting photograph is dull, and shows lots of underexposed and overexposed areas. Bright light in the background and dark shadows threw off the exposure for the entire image, and the scene just looks wrong. Proper exposure is essential for capturing brilliant colors – and the quality of the light and the time of year matter too!

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Vibrant Colors

eBook: Vibrant Colors

Jay Patel —  July 3, 2011

Price: $10.00

Format: eBook, PDF format, 33 pages

Size: 20.6 MB

Requirement: Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 or greater

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Corwn Point Overlook, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon (OR), USA

Fleeting Moments

Jay Patel —  May 12, 2011

In photography…great light is fleeting. Sometimes, it last for just a few minutes – or even a few  brief seconds. The challenge is to be ready to shoot when the light is just right.
We arrived at Chanticleer overlook as the clouds began to change color. A rainbow had appeared over beautiful, sun-drenched Crown Point in the distance. The last rich red light was still falling on the mountains. Jay grabbed his camera, vaulted himself onto a low stone wall, and set up his tripod in record time. He snapped the photo at the perfect moment.

Less than two minutes later, the scene had changed dramatically. The sun was no longer painting Crown Point, the rainbow had faded, the colors in the sky were almost gone.

We do our best to be prepared for this kind of light. It’s not easy – and sometimes we miss it entirely. But with a little luck – and a bit of research and preparation – we just might get what we’re hoping for. The moment is worth it!

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Bosque del Apache Wildlife Preserve, New Mexico

Quick Tip: Color Balance

Jay Patel —  May 2, 2011

Bosque del Apache Wildlife Preserve, New Mexico

I took this shot in New Mexico, at the Bosque del Apache wildlife preserve. The cranes were flying overhead as I set up my tripod – but by that time, I’d had my fill of photographing birds. I wanted to capture the beauty of the landscape as high winds and heavy clouds announced a coming storm. At times, I found it hard to stand still – gusts would almost push me off my feet. My eyes were stinging, and I had to hold onto my tripod to make sure it didn’t fall over… but the unusual autumn colors made it worth the trouble. I was drawn by the rich orange colors in the landscape – and the complimentary deep blue/grey of the sky. A bit of residual light made it through the clouds on the horizon to my right and behind me – and it provided a very soft, golden glow on the already colorful landscape.

I used a graduated neutral density filter to reduce the brightness of the sky, but I bracketed as well, since my histogram told me that the light areas in between the heavy clouds were still overexposing slightly. I blended the two images using our manual iHDR technique. Aside from the dynamic range problem with a shot like this one, color balance can be pretty difficult. Because the scene is so vast, the balance of light is often different from one area to another in a wide-angle image. In this case, the foreground needed one white balance, and the sky needed an entirely different one!

Take a look at the small image below. The foreground color is just right (at least according to my memory of the scene) – but the sky is oddly white. This happens because light is being scattered and reflected differently in the sky than it is on the ground. When I set my color balance for the ground, the sky just looks wrong! So, I set the color balance in the RAW converter, save a snapshot, and open the file in Photoshop. And then I go back to the original RAW file and adjust the color balance until the sky looks right… ignoring the funky colors I’m creating in the foreground. I always save another snapshot in the RAW converter so that I can review or make changes later on… and then I open the file again. Now I have two images open on my desktop and I can blend them with the help of some simple layers and masks.

The finished images is a better representation of the reality of the scene… and the color balance is no longer distracting. There are a lot of steps involved when it comes to capturing a wide-angle shot like this… I know! But it gets easier with practice. I promise! :)

Do you have questions about this post? Maybe some suggestions for future blog posts? Feel free to leave a comment! We always love to hear from you – and we’d love to see what you are doing, too. If you are struggling with white balance – or if you’ve mastered it – leave a link in your comment. Maybe we can all learn for YOU! :)

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Composition - R1

Quick Tips: Stormy Weather

Jay Patel —  March 7, 2011

IMG_1662.tif

For most people, stormy weather can be the ruination of an otherwise perfect vacation… but landscape photographers welcome storm clouds. Why? Because storm lighting is often dramatic and beautiful. So when the skies start to cloud over, pay attention… this is when things get really good!

  • Light is often best before or after big storms – so watch the weather, and be ready to shoot when the light is right.
  • Fast-moving clouds may open up as they move overhead – allowing beams of light to drop from the sky. Those beams can turn an ordinary landscape into a contest-winner!
  • When everything is wet, use a circular polarizer filter to cut through scattered light. It will cut through the glare, and reward you with rich, beautiful colors. But be forewarned! If you are photographing a rainbow, remove your circular polarizer! A rainbow is a result of scattered light – and the circular polarizer will erase it from your photo!
  • And finally, look for reflections and reflected light to add interest to your foreground.

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comparison

Quick Tips: Color Processing

Jay Patel —  October 13, 2010

'Twixt Autumn and Winter - Varina Patel

It is well known that colors can effect the mood of an image. Blue, for example, is associated with feelings of calm – azure summer skies and deep lakes… and cold – winter scenes of snow and freezing glaciers. Most viewers will associate a chilly feeling with an image of ice – like the one above. But how many will notice the subtle blue color cast?

Without a direct comparison, it’s difficult to see the blue cast at all. Take a look at the image below – you can see that the original image is on the left. On the right, the color cast from the ice has been completely removed. Although the texture of the ice is preserved, the chilly feeling is lacking. This subtle change reduces the overall effectiveness of the image.

During processing, it is important to be aware of slight color casts like this. Think about what you are trying to convey with your image. Do you want your viewer to perceive a sense of calm and cool in your image? Or are you trying to invoke feelings of warmth and comfort?

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