custom white balance setting for flash?

[zenman49]

just wondering when i set a custom white balance on my cam using a white paper, is the setting for normal shooting without flash? can i use it for flash shooting as well?

i did some flash shots and realised the colour not right. went back to my manual, it says for flash shooting use a 18% grey card to set the custom white balance.

 

[zac08]

just wondering when i set a custom white balance on my cam using a white paper, is the setting for normal shooting without flash? can i use it for flash shooting as well?

i did some flash shots and realised the colour not right. went back to my manual, it says for flash shooting use a 18% grey card to set the custom white balance.

Well, you can customise the flash WB, but it'll only work if your subject is at the same distance and under the same ligthing all the time. The best bet is to shoot RAW and tweak later.

 

[calebk]

One thing you can do is balance the flash's light to the ambient light, however when you are in fluorescent lighting then it will be erratic, as fluorescents are not all of the same colour temperature and CRI (see here).

Shooting in RAW will still be the best safety to accurate and consistent colour temperature.

 

[ortega]

just wondering when i set a custom white balance on my cam using a white paper, is the setting for normal shooting without flash? can i use it for flash shooting as well?

i did some flash shots and realised the colour not right. went back to my manual, it says for flash shooting use a 18% grey card to set the custom white balance.

yes a custom WB using ambient light is set for the ambient light (without flash)

you can use it for flash as well but your colours will look wonky
i believe that most flash is set for daylight, so it is best to set your camera WB to either flash or daylight when the flash is the main light.

 

[OlyFlyer]

just wondering when i set a custom white balance on my cam using a white paper, is the setting for normal shooting without flash? can i use it for flash shooting as well?

i did some flash shots and realised the colour not right. went back to my manual, it says for flash shooting use a 18% grey card to set the custom white balance.

If you use flash set WB to daylight or 5700K. It sould suit you well, no need for custom WB through grey or white card.

 

[zenman49]

thank you to all you guys for your good advises. i never pay attention to my settings most of the time. ought to be most serious now in order to get good pic.

 

[calebk]

Personally, I think that colour correction is one of the most painful things to do in post (unless you shoot RAW), so I'm very particular about nailing the colour as accurately as possible at the time of shooting.

Also, this site is good to check out: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balance.htm

Your flash is daylight balanced, so generally setting your Kelvin colour temperature (if present) to 5,500K should be safe. Similarly in Tungsten lighting (of 3,200K), you will need to put an orange gel (filter) over your flash head to lower its colour temperature.

 

[Squid]

Your profile shows your usage of Nikon D40x. For Nikon flash system used on its Nikon DSLR bodies, there is communication of flash settings that affects white balance from the flash to be transmitted to the camera. See Nikon's thread below.

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/speedlight/function/flashcolor.htm

 

[calebk]

Your profile shows your usage of Nikon D40x. For Nikon flash system used on its Nikon DSLR bodies, there is communication of flash settings that affects white balance from the flash to be transmitted to the camera. See Nikon's thread below.

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/speedlight/function/flashcolor.htm

I do believe that this still doesn't change the need to have consistent colour balance lights. If not, why would Nikon include colour correction gels with their SB-800 (and SB-900)?

 

[zac08]

Your profile shows your usage of Nikon D40x. For Nikon flash system used on its Nikon DSLR bodies, there is communication of flash settings that affects white balance from the flash to be transmitted to the camera. See Nikon's thread below.

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/speedlight/function/flashcolor.htm

I do believe that this still doesn't change the need to have consistent colour balance lights. If not, why would Nikon include colour correction gels with their SB-800 (and SB-900)?

This is only for the slight shifts.... exposure can screw the WB... this is a known issue...

 

[ortega]

I do believe that this still doesn't change the need to have consistent colour balance lights. If not, why would Nikon include colour correction gels with their SB-800 (and SB-900)?

that is when the flash is not the main source of light
and if you want to have the ambient light and the flash light matched
or to do some creative colour shifts

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4204183&postcount=92

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4204216&postcount=93