Whenever I photograph I include a gray card that enables me to adjust the color balance later in post-processing. It is not that I always balance the color to a normal setting. Sometimes I prefer the color cast to be more cool or warm. But at least I know what "normal" is and can deviate from there.
The card I carry with me is the
QPcard 101. It is small enough to conveniently fit in a vest pocket or camera bag. The images below show a rather dramatic example of how effective these cards can be.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGA08YOtP6ut_tm_LCdzAWzROZW07HYgRzOl-OsRetQihGqhUMUMIyVNXtGq44d496IAuIzbpBkO6EYesA23Vd1iLnKcfZKS_reqO_poNJ6-02agEUz2xH_Pe7ash0kXVhz_XGJpC0L9E/s400/ti0159066.jpg) |
I took this photo with available window light very late in the day under exceptionally cloudy conditions. Under such circumstances, colors will normally tend to a heavy blue range. After correction in post processing the colors were restored to normal. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlDFSMBn2Fvs5qiZl53Vjo2yvVO7WH9QwV444-7AUG9Da27SHDtJ4BKyO-fjtjgnqncaKcDefOASG5MDS-VRSrk51VUP7c1c7VPRT2T9SIuRpiSVUXEwxt756kxHk8TiFxfCEIuMMiT4/s400/ti0159069.jpg) |
Here is a before and after using the QPcard 101. The upper photo shows the results using an auto white balance camera setting. It tends heavily towards a blue cast. In post-processing I clicked on the white or gray area to correct the color to normal. The gray block usually results in a slightly warmer rendering. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8049NrNlM2GS3i44QGAe_L6VdG6_24A7TEI3ehUzFZNhbR4rneSPpUJtKWmY3vQph4_nDjhyrYWrwbMmSBG5zMqMSJKDKFkMjkT5ut7gBWjhyphenhyphenfPI5E_1V8KuRIMOordp9bQQKsxo11o/s400/ti0159071.jpg) |
This is the finished photo. Once I had achieved the correct color balance, I pushed it a bit further to warm it up. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD27yCEANmxDoujesY4pA74zdwGphSC9TAZcm9hiJpowtWmqEO7Xn9nwmgwzr47b5UFIIyhMrughZwbeMPKkaLXUWhY0DbPAsGoOHcvrJIanUL5Xu-tpiS6IW0KksYESYxyDFUImuU1eI/s400/ti0159259.jpg) |
Just to show the extent of this color correction method, this image was taken even later in the day using only moon light. The exposure was 10sec at f/8 and ISO400. Under these circumstances the true color was completely skewed. Nonetheless, I was able to easily correct it to normal in post-processing with one click of a mouse button. |
No comments:
Post a Comment