How do you set custom white balance

[leonard_forte1]

<p>How do you set a custom white balance(what do you use and what technique)?<br>

I know shooting Raw you don't have to worry about it but what is the best (easy, cheap) method of setting white balance that works all the time. I read that an expodisc works but I think its expensive.<br>

If it makes any difference I use a nikon D200</p>

[ka_kei_au]

I always carry a gray color card.

[Matthew Brennan]

<p>Leonard,</p>

<p>I photograph succulent plants for sale online. For this task I always perform a custom WB. I shoot inside a plant tunnel which is skinned with translucent white thermoplastic film, it offers a good diffused white light source. I shoot RAW anyway in case the light changes significantly or I hit an exposure altering button / dial by accident. It's of vital importance that I get greens and reds 'just so' as the plants I sell come in a huge range of green shades and flowers can also come in a broad range of reds too , I like to use a custom WB to get the overall combination of foliage and flower tones just right.</p>

<p>My method is simple but it works very well for me. I have a blackened plant 'stage' into which I sit a section of white signwriter's board which is exactly the same temperature as the plastic film skin on the plant house. I set up tri-pod and take a WB preset. This is sufficient to shoot indoors, even when the sun comes in and out from clouds. Early morning or late evening light is an exception - I don't shoot then as the light varies wildly and I'd have to re-calibrate the WB too often. Others might scoff at my modus operandi but it is what works for me and fulfills my requirments nearly 100% of the time.</p><div></div>

[Matt Laur]

<p>You can get very, very close with almost any white surface held close to the lens in the that you'll be shooting. The in-camera method can deal with it just fine - but something that's properly neutral (I use an Ezybalance) is all the better. Shooting in RAW does get you around the problem... but only if you have a white target recorded under the same light (which you can use in post production to get things straight).</p>

[bob_bill]

<p>Kelby's cs3 photoshop book has a tearout at the back. put it in the first photo then in raw, just click the eyedropper on the white balance square, instant correct white balance. You can then batch process in raw all the photos in that light based on that adjustment.</p>

[SCL]

<p>I've tried the technique described in the user manual (I have a D100 not D200) it works, but I've found that it is easier for me to adjust in PS.<br>

)</p>

[wojtek_kalinowski]

<p>Just use White Balance Tool in CR on any neutral colour (white, grey,or black).W</p>

[leonard_forte1]

<p>Thanks for all responses. I wanted to avoid corrections in post processing. I thought of using a white sheet of paper but white paper is not all the same "white"</p>

[john_campbell8]

<p>Sure, but isn't that what grey cards are for?</p>

[leonard_forte1]

<p>Does the gray card need to fill the frame for setting white balance or for metering?</p>

[julieedwards]

<p>I use a Colour Confidence Total Balance ( <a href="http://shop.colourconfidence.com/product.php?xProd=1743">http://shop.colourconfidence.com/product.php?xProd=1743</a> ). </p>

<p>Its a "pop up" "card" just like many reflectors with grey and white in it. It's small when packed but when popped big enough to fill the frame hand held or place in a large scene. I shoot loads of interiors and find this is a great tool. </p>

[bob_bill]

<p>My microfiber lens cloths are gray as well. Always in the vest, readily at hand, if no card, multitasks. The nikon one clips to the vest zipper and has a built in holder. If fail to do that. search the image with the RAW eyedropper tool to find a RGB where the numbers are equal or nearly so. Click.</p>

[walterh]

<p>"I thought of using a white sheet of paper but white paper is not all the same "white""</p>

<p>Leonard - good that you mention it :-)</p>

<p>Many white papers have brighteners that make the paper look neutral bright white for our eyes but can appear not so neutral for the digital sensor. The situation is worse in the sense that the effect will vary with the light source. So one brand of paper may work well in sunlight but be off in another light source.</p>

<p>For white balance of course in principle gray is as good as white (exposed less) but professional products usually are gray because photographers are used to a gray card and can also use it for exposure setting the way they are used to it. </p>

<p>(If you would accept slight adjustments in post processing [say in batch mode] you can get away with "almost" gray material e.g. styrofoam or artist gray cardboard selected in comparison with a reference gray card. I often use a small sheet of gray PVC plastic that I know is only very slightly off. Its advantage is that it is tough and water resistant and can be used in a wet forest ^^ )</p>