Hi Steve,


First off, one of the best things you can do for white balance is to shoot in RAW format, if you aren't already. If you are shooting in JPG and adjusting WB and other things in Photoshop, "messed with" can become "messed up" since each change steals away a little bit of image quality. If you shoot RAW, you can set the white balance how you like (including click-WB from a gray card), without penalty.


I have tired several methods - a ColorRight to set an in-camera custom WB being one. That is important for tricky lighting if you're shooting JPG, but for RAW I don't bother. I sometimes include a DataColor SpyderCube or an X-Rite Color Checker Passport in one image in a series, if I'll be shooting a whole set under similar lighting (indoor portraits, for example, especially if it's a mix of ambient and flash lighting).


But mostly, I use AWB and adjust in post. Frequently I'll end up with Cloudy for outdoor shots, for a little extra warmth (even on sunny days), Tungsten indoors (or Flash, if that's the main light source). If it doesn't look right on my calibrated display, I set a Kelvin temperature.


Hope that helps...


--John