Shooting Interiors

[HDNitehawk]

I too thought the picture was warm. I have had the same problem with the AWB on Canon cameras not getting the WB right on interior tungsten.


Most of my interior pictures are family, and really I do not want to spend much time doing post processing on them even thoug I do RAW. My fix has been to shoot in Kelvin (K) and adjust the setting before I start shooting the camera.


Does any one have advice how to get accurate WB in camera so you need no post processing?

[Sean Setters]

Does any one have advice how to get accurate WB in camera so you need no post processing?

Custom white balance using a gray card. Gray cards can be purchased at photographic retailers (like B&H, Adorama, etc). You take a picture of the [18%] gray card, and set your custom white balance to that picture. In a sense, you're telling your camera that the gray card is neutral, so it shifts the color spectrum on the following pictures as if to make that gray card picture the correct gray.

[Tom Wertman]

Does any one have advice how to get accurate WB in camera so you need no post processing?

Yes absolutely. Look at ExpoImaging products like ExpoCap and ExpoDisc. I use the ExpoCap and love the consistant results I get. It is a simple filter snapped onto the lens.One shot is taken in P mode while pointing the camera at the light source. The ExpoCap is then removed. That shot is then used in camera to set the custom WB. Simple to use if shooting JPG.


Without creating another RAW vs. JPG debate I personnally use JPG 98% of the time and here is why. JPG compresses the file by removing what is not visible to the naked eye. At the end of the day I want my clients to be happy with their photos and they are because they can't tell the difference. They don't know much about post processing and they do not scutinize photos like photographers do. They simply buy, frame and enjoy. This saves a tremendous amount of PP time and when you are talking 1000+ wedding photos that is huge. I know that may rub some purists the wrong way but it is a practicle solution. For those who enjoy shooting RAW and PP it is a personal choice. If I was a high end photog with high end clientele I would probably have to shoot RAW. But I am not. Perception can become reality unfortunately.

[Sheiky]

Does any one have advice how to get accurate WB in camera so you need no post processing?

A grey-card works like a charm. Make a shot and use the custom white balance choice in your camera's menu.


Or use a piece of typing paper. It will work approximately good, but of course never as good as an 18% grey card.


Info-video from Youtube

[neuroanatomist]

Does any one have advice how to get accurate WB in camera so you need no post processing?

You could try setting a custom WB (where you shoot a gray or white card that fills most of the frame, then choose that in the image after selecting Custom WB from one of the shooting menus), and set your WB to Custom. Instead of a gray card, you can also use one of the WB filters that hash the incoming light to 18% gray (ExpoDisc, ColorRight, etc.).


Depending on how accurate you want it to be, you may need to redo the custom WB for different settings (for example, rooms in my house have different proportions of tungsten and fluorescent lighting, and before the sun goes down there are varying amounts of daylight entering from outside, which may or may not be filtered by clouds or sheer curtains).

[MrGreenBug]

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... I feel like the left side of the frame (the sink in particular) is clipped -- kind of like a portrait that cuts off a person's arm at the elbow. Would it have been possible to zoom out a little to include more of the sink and its undercabinet? I understand why you wanted to keep the doorway in the shot, as it provides some nice depth to the shot.

<div>Thank you! I never thought about that sink being cut off like a person's arm in portraits and I think that's a good point to consider next time.</div>
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Would it have been possible to zoom out a little to include more of the sink and its undercabinet?

Yes, it was possible but I really never thought if it that way until now that you've pointed it out. []

I understand why you wanted to keep the doorway in the shot, as it provides some nice depth to the shot.

<div>About this door, well I wanted something to reference to a pathway and not just having some two-sided box. Now that you've provided another way of looking at it, I guess it makes sense more now to me.</div>
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Nice shot Angelo, the second is definitely better toned than the first one [img]/emoticons/emotion-21.gif[/img] I like the angle and the field of view. However I think the window on the right isn't adding much to the picture if I must be honest. Personally I think I would have removed it by cropping. But nonetheless it's a very nice shot.


I like to do the white-balance just as John does. Correct it in post-processing. I just bought a grey card set which I'm planning on using in some more serious photos. Just make sure it's in the frame at one shot and keep shooting auto-white-balance. And then adjust all the photos in the same lighting in post-processing with the sample image I shot of the grey card.

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Thanks Jan! I usually do my WB adjustment too in post-process by adjusting the color temp through the Kelvin scale. I guess I have to get myself a grey card then so I can try this custom WB.


Thank you again for your comments and critique. I surely did learn a lot today. [Y][]



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[Sheiky]

Without creating another RAW vs. JPG debate I personnally use JPG 98% of the time and here is why. JPG compresses the file by removing what is not visible to the naked eye. At the end of the day I want my clients to be happy with their photos and they are because they can't tell the difference.

Perhaps you're right and I can understand your point of view. If I had to give immediate results I would have done the same. However I think your clients must not be the only ones that are happy. If I'm not happy with the results, but the clients are. I'm still unsatisfied. Therefor I strive to get the maximum out of my pictures and RAW absolutely helps with that. Because I know clients are not hard to satisfy, but I am [:P] And since hard-drives don't cost a fortune and the adjustments in post-processing in RAW and JPEGs take an equal amount of time, I'm voting for RAW. The only downside of RAW-files is that they consume more memory and time to compress and store, but that's a small price to pay.


I even shoot RAW at days where I shoot more than a 1000 pictures...even the smaller adjustments will look cleaner in RAW than in JPEG.


Jan

[neuroanatomist]

I usually do my WB adjustment too in post-process by adjusting the color temp through the Kelvin scale. I guess I have to get myself a grey card then so I can try this custom WB.

Just to point out, if you get the gray card you don't need to set the Custom WB on the camera. Just take a shot of the gray card in the room sometime during the shoot. Then when you PP, if you're using DPP select Click White Balance, click the eyedropper tool, and click that on the gray card. You can then register that setting (store up to 3) and apply it to subsequent images from the same lighting situation.

[MrGreenBug]

Cool! Thanks again for the tip! [Y]