Les' Musings: September 2011

In my efforts to improve results in my photography, I have been creating a custom white balance in almost all of my photography (indoor and out). This has allowed me to get good colors with little or no post processing to make color corrections. I do continually look to improve though, and I've seen other photographers that dial in the color temperature (in Kelvin) rather than using a custom white balance.

A friend of mine dials in 4900 (I think that's the color temperature he uses) when photographing hockey at the BOK Center. He swears that this gives him good color. I think he arrived at this by trial and error, but his results are pretty good. However, I just don't believe that this can be as accurate as a custom white balance.

I am intrigued by the notion of dialing in the color temperature though. My wife and I recently bought some LEDs to replace compact florescent bulbs that we had been using in our home. I noticed that the package lists a Kelvin color temperature of 4900. I did some test shots under this lighting and the colors were right on.

Although I think if you have the light manufacturers' specifications on what color temperature their bulbs produce, I believe that over time, there is variation from their factory color temperature. So although when brand new, these bulbs produce a particular color temperature, over time, that can change. This is why I still use a custom white balance.

Now with this all stated, I want improved colors, if possible. So in addition do what I'm currently doing, I keep wanting to know if there's a better way to arrive at a custom white balance.

I currently use an Expo card and put it over the front of my camera lens. I point the lens at my light source, and take a reference shot. I'll note that this usually requires turning off auto-focus. Once I get the reference shot, I turn auto-focus back on. I then set my camera to use this reference shot (it's a neutral grey image, or should be) as my custom white balance, and then I put the camera into custom white balance most rather than auto. That's it.

What I don't know is if there's a better method and/or tool for getting a custom white balance. I've seen some photographers that have a lens cap that has a white balance len within it. They put the camera at their light source with this cap over the lens. From there, the method is the same for using that image as their reference (their custom white balance).
I've heard of people using a coffee filter over the lens to produce their reference image, but I'm not sure how good that really is. It hasn't been calibrated to produce a neutral grey from a light source. Likewise, I've seen that people have used the cap off of an old Pringles potato chip can. They claim this works pretty well, and of course, it would be less expensive than an Expo card or any of the white balance lens (such as the Balens) that I've seen.

One thing I like with the Expo card is that I can use it with all of my lenses. Since the Balens is set to attach to the front of a lens, you need a different one for each size (diameter) of lens that you have.

Many studio photographers will use a grey card and take reference shots of it to get their custom white balance. This is a little tougher to do at a sporting event, and so I like the use of a tool such as the Expo card.
I keep mentioning the Expo card, but I am not completely endorsing it. I'm happy with it but always looking to improve. It's just that I'm picky about investing more money in a new (and expensive) solution that may or may not be any better than what I'm using now.

ColorRight.com has products for coming up with a custom white balance, and many swear by it. However, the cost is way too high for me to try if it's not any better than what I have. I'd sure like to know if it would be an improvement. Their website claims it's the best, but then again, all of these vendors claim their product is the best.