White Balance Aid.

[Michael Cassidy]

Hi,
Does anyone have one of these? http://www.expoimaging.net/products/...px?id=MTAwOQ==
They seem to be what I'm looking for, but before I order, thought I'd ask!
Thanks in advance. Mike.

[Ash Greyson]

Never used one... I prefer oldschool warm cards... work great and EASY!



ash =o)

[Michael Cassidy]

Thanks Ash. I'll take your advice.
Regards, Mike.

[Cal Johnson]

These things, as Ash says, work great.

http://www.studio1productions.com/warmcards.htm

[Daniel Baker]

Hey,

If you wanted to get that sickly greenish light a florescent throws off...or that greenish look you see in night shots in front of a convenience store, or inside even...what would you white balance to? A very light magenta maybe? Or violet?

I'll try and look for an example of what I'm talking about...

[Jarrod Whaley]

This WB stuff is based on simple color theory. If you want one color, balance to its complement. Red gives green, blue gives orange, yellow gives purple, etc. In practice it's a little more complicated than that, and results can sometimes not be quite what you'd expect. But that's the basic idea. Play around and see what works.

Note that it's fairly easy to get a warm or cool look this way, but other color casts are a little harder to get right.

[Ken E. Williams]

Originally Posted by Daniel Baker

If you wanted to get that sickly greenish light a florescent throws off...or that greenish look you see in night shots in front of a convenience store, or inside even...what would you white balance to? A very light magenta maybe? Or violet?

Daniel,

FYI - The "warm cards" people have a special card called a "Minus Green" card which they say "provides the perfect solution for obtaining pleasing skin tones and a more correct color balance while shooting under fluorescents. It's the fast and easy way to give your camera better color rendition in uncontrollable fluorescent lighting situations."

Regards, Ken

[Jarrod Whaley]

Originally Posted by Ken E. Williams

Daniel,

FYI - The "warm cards" people have a special card called a "Minus Green" card which they say "provides the perfect solution for obtaining pleasing skin tones and a more correct color balance while shooting under fluorescents. It's the fast and easy way to give your camera better color rendition in uncontrollable fluorescent lighting situations."

Ken--I think he wants the green color cast.

[Daniel Baker]

Yeah...other way around ;)

[Chris Owen]

Originally Posted by Daniel Baker

Yeah...other way around ;)

If you're shooting under flourescent light (inside the convenience store), a normal white balance should give you that slightly green tint to everything. Flourescent lighting / digital video don't usually produce a great result ... unless, of course, that "sickly look" is what you are after.

For the outside night shot at a convenience store ... white balance inside the store first (to true white), then take your gear outside and start your shoot. It won't be quite as dramatic as when you're inside, but it will certainly give you that greenish overcast you are looking for. Just experiment with it before your actual shoot to make sure its what you want.

If it were me ... I'd try to balance properly to bring out natural colors under the given light and adjust to the desired color in post. But, then again, post is my favorite part of the process - most folks hate it.