7 replies to this topic

[johnd]

1st picture
White balance set to auto.




2nd Photo WB set to outdoors. conditions were partly cloudy and pic's taken
less then a minute apart in full sunshine when i saw the green tinge on the 1st pic.




I don't mess with the WB much unless I'm in a darker area.
Don't the WB auto setting compensate for most conditions?
Looking thru my pics today i saw a few more with the green tinge.

[Platypus]

The auto white balance settings generally varies in accuracy with the quality of your camera. Mine's not that great (I have a Nikon D70). No matter what though, setting it to a specific setting will always approximate the correct white balance better than the auto setting. It's generally a good thing to do at the start of your day, since the setting you need will so rarely change!

[Joejr14]

I've never once changed white balance on my camera. For over 3 years its been set to auto and I've never had a problem.

[meghann]

I never like what my auto WB does, either. I keep it set to "cloudy" usually when I'm outside, even if it's not cloudy. Those have been the results I'm happiest with, although it does vary from camera to camera.

[Mike6158]

I vary WB depending on what I'm doing. If it's cloudy, I use cloudy. Sunny... then I use sunny. When I was in Jackson Hole, WY last year I found that it was best to use cloudy even in full sun. If I shoot sports, especially at night or indoors, I'll lock the WB in manual at around 5200 deg K and correct as needed in post (I shoot raw). When I shoot time lapse, I lock the WB so that I don't flicker.

Digital photography has "degrees of freedom" that film didn't. Along with:

Shutter Speed and Aperture

we can change ISO and White Balance on the fly. That's just the in camera stuff. If you shoot in raw and use Lightroom or Photoshop (there are others... these two are what I use) then you have even more degrees of freedom (if you've exposed properly and the scene has room for changes).

Photographs are now data first, image second. Capture all of the data that your camera allows and you will get the best image possible out of what you shot.

[etelebaxi]

The answer depends on your camera. If You have a DSLR, make raw shots, and you can change the contitions laterin Lightroom, Photoshop, or any other program. So automatic WB in most cases is good enough. 

If your camera allows you ti verify the shots, do it, and only if you have big problems with WB try manually adjust it. 

Try to make photos in difefrent conditions, preset conditions in most cases are good enough, only if you want art, you have to intervene manually. Sometimes different preset conditions do mean different WB conditions. Use the best one in further shots. You may be surprised, the "not natural" WB sometimes is better than the natural one. 

Make experiences, and you will discover your own style... Men learn from mistakes. 

[Mike6158]

I shot AWB since 2006. Last year, while in Jackson, WY I found out that AWB doesn't work as well as it should. All of my images had a much cooler WB than reality. Higher altitude = different color temperature of light. I switched to Cloudy and that solved the problem.  AWB also has issues under stadium lights. In this scenario I'll set a color temperature rather than a WB mode. 

 

White balance is just another degree of freedom that digital photographers have. The others are Exposure, f-stop, shutter speed, and ISO. With digital photography you can control all of these parameters or your can choose to let the camera control all or some of them. I like being the one that makes the decisions about my images so I tend to adjust what I need to when I need to. Its a personal preference and it in no way is a "decree" of what others should do or not do. 

[etelebaxi]

I shot AWB since 2006. Last year, while in Jackson, WY I found out that AWB doesn't work as well as it should. All of my images had a much cooler WB than reality. Higher altitude = different color temperature of light. I switched to Cloudy and that solved the problem.  AWB also has issues under stadium lights. In this scenario I'll set a color temperature rather than a WB mode. 

 

White balance is just another degree of freedom that digital photographers have. The others are Exposure, f-stop, shutter speed, and ISO. With digital photography you can control all of these parameters or your can choose to let the camera control all or some of them. I like being the one that makes the decisions about my images so I tend to adjust what I need to when I need to. Its a personal preference and it in no way is a "decree" of what others should do or not do. 

"so I tend to adjust what I need to when I need to. Its a personal preference and it in no way is a "decree" of what others should do or not do."

This is what I have said with other words. If you need to, change to manual... there are several solutions.