Ensuring Accurate Color with RAW Capture
If you're shooting RAW images, the easiest way to ensure accurate color is to photograph a white or gray card in the same light the subject is in and then use the gray card to set color balance when you process the images on the computer. Gray cards are specifically designed to render accurate color by providing a neutral white balance reference point that you can use during image-editing to color-balance batches of images. Once an accurate gray point is established for an image, all other image colors automatically fall into place. For greater control, I like to use the Calibration Targets from PhotoVision that have sections of white, gray, and black. They're utilized in much the same way as standard gray cards.
When shooting a portrait, after making all my exposure settings, I have my subject hold the target under or beside his or her face for the first shot and then continue shooting without the card in the scene. When you begin converting the RAW images, open the picture that you took with the target. Using the conversion program's white balance tool, click the gray section of the target to correct the color and then click Done to save the corrected white balance settings. If you're using a RAW conversion program such as Camera Raw, Lightroom, or DPP, you can then copy the white balance settings from the corrected image and apply them to all the images shot under the same light. In a few seconds, you can color-balance 10, 20, 50, or more images.
This technique, also called click-balancing, is a quick way to provide a neutral reference point in any light. For example, if you're shooting a wedding, the light changes from the bride's dressing room, to the ceremony setting, and then again in the reception area. Instead of setting a custom white balance for each type of light, you can take a picture of a white card in each of the different areas before you start shooting. Just be sure to expose the card properly so that it isn't so bright that it registers as the brightest highlight.
There are a number of white and gray card products you can use, but my favorites are the One Shot Targets from PhotoVision (http://photovisionvideo.com) or the ExpoDisc from ExpoImaging (www.expoimaging.net) to get a neutral reference point. There are also small reflectors that do double duty by having one side in 18% gray and the other side is white or silver. The least expensive option — and one that works nicely — is a plain white, unlined index card or pad, the choice of many photojournalists.
Post a comment