7 Daily Exercise for PHOTOGRAPHERS

5. Set a custom white balance value

It’s easy to set the custom white balance value of a camera, you just set it to the correct mode (the manual will explain how to find this) and then photograph a white or neutral grey card in the same light as your subject. Well that’s the theory.

In practice it can be little trickier, because the angle at which you hold the card can have a huge impact upon the final result.

If the main light is coming from directly above your subject, for example, and you tip the card slightly downwards towards a coloured area under your subject you will find the result is very different to the one you get if you hold the card slightly tipped upwards.

Learn how to make a custom white balance setting with your camera and experiment by holding a white balance card at different angles to see for yourself and learn.

If you find you don’t like the neutral look of images that your camera produces in this mode, try the adjustment controls until you find a setting that works for you.

Custom White Balance

To Be Continued....

7 Daily Exercise for PHOTOGRAPHERS

4. Set a specific white balance

Modern automatic white balance systems are extremely capable, but that’s not always a good thing because it can mean that you shoot with your mind in neutral (ha!) as far as colour goes.

This may be fine much of the time, but if the camera delivers a result that you don’t like, you may find yourself a little stuck for answers.

The answer is to climb free of the auto white balance safety-net and set a preset white balance value for the appropriate lighting conditions.

You may find that the Daylight or Sunny white balance setting produces the best results for the majority of the time, but it’s worth experimenting with the others to assess their impact in a range of conditions so that you know when to use them in the future.

Set The White Balance

To Be Continued....