Function Friday: White Balance

Want to take better photos? Who doesn't?

Sometimes we find that our images have color casts that we don't understand, that are distracting.

By learning a little bit about light, and how your camera works you can make a simple adjustment and have a HUGE impact on your natural light images.

White Balance (WB) 

simply refers to the camera mode that allows you to control how your camera sees the color temperature of light. 

By selecting the correct mode - your camera can correct setting White - back to White and saving you countless hours of photo editing and stress! 

If you haven't already - you can print these Keycards and keep them in your camera bag for quick reference!

<Get the first set here>

<Get the second set here>

This double use Key Card lists both the different WB modes and WHEN you want to use them along with a kelvin guide to the color temp / type of light. 

Your most natural light, is during midday - or when you are using flash or strobe lights. 

However, as a photographer you get to choose when utilizing your natural light environment adds to your images - and when it needs to be corrected out. 

This cutie was taken in the shade during the morning and you can see the blue behind her while blurred should be cement (grey) Personally I choose NOT to correct this with WB because it really makes her eyes pop. 

Where in this image I selected to utilise my WB to remove the cool blue tone because I felt it made her look too pale and it seemed to fight her personal style.

WB is absolutly your friend if you are doing portait work - but another BIG place to use it is product photography. If you are an online retailer doing your own images - this is a tip you want to use! 

The Best Time To Do Product Photography

When you look up "best time to shoot product shots" everyone seems to have an opinion. Some say when it is bright and sunny, others on a overcast day, some say mornings some say afternoons. When honestly it really depends! There are SO many factors that go into selecting a time of day!

I feel the best time of day to shoot with natural light is...

WHEN YOU HAVE TIME TO BE CONSISTENT, AND FOCUSED.

That's the real key. Select a time of day that generally works well with your schedule. Nap time for the kids, early morning after they go to school... you want a time where you can work uninterrupted, constantly.  The more variables you take out of your photography the easier it will be to learn what to do and how to do it well. Just like when we talked about starting with one background that will work for all your products, be consistent with the time of day you choose!

First Select your location, look for:

•  The ability to create a studio area that can be easily set up, or left up for multiple days (preferable without causing disruption in your household)
• Your windows: If your shooting inside, and using natural light look for a window without panes, this will help eliminate distracting shadows. If you are using available light, meaning home lighting kits NOT sunlight... then you want to be FAR away from the windows so you don't have extra highlights or shadows to compensate for.

• Space. Give yourself space to be able to lay out the products to shoot, a place to put them when your done, and keep them out of your way while your working. You also want some distance between the product and the background. The further your background is from your product the more "blurry" it will be when you are using a macro/aperture control mode, which in turn will draw more attention to your subject!

• Easy background area. If you have a window close to a wall, you can use the wall for your background and the window for light (for natural light options). 

•  Check the light at the time of day that works best for you. 

Now this is where choosing the best light vs. time of day gets tricky when using natural light. While your eye can not see the different colors of light your camera does. and its not just time of day to think about, but window placement and weather as well! (light 101)

So depending on the light coming into the window you may need to try different techniques in order to produce the best results with your photography.

If I shot out of my mastered room at 8 am that window is completely in the shade of early morning light and my images would be blue and underexposed because there isn't enough light, and the temperature of the light that is there up in the 7500K range. Where if I shoot next to my office window one side gets direct sun closer to 3000K, and another window on the other side gets a soft glow of filtered sun at the same time probably in the range of 5000K. So if 8 am is the best time for me to shoot, I have 3 different locations I could choose from that would "fit the bill".

Since I have a large window, and a wall close to it I selected that to be my "shoot" area for my natural light images for this post, and several others for this blog since I can set up easily and without interfering with other workspace in my office.  I choose to pick my battles dealing with the warm direct light and window panes. Because my smaller window is host to a second workspace, and too close to my prop closet for me to feel comfortable shooting in that space. So for me, it makes logistical sense to utilize a different option, where I won't be in my own way.

Do you see, its all a compromise and understanding what your choices are, what fits your life the best, and understanding the obstacles. We can work around most obstacles, but if you don't have a consistent day or time to shoot... you create more because your lighting (which is the MOST important part of good photography) will always be changing. Things that work for one person in their lighting situation wont work for you!

The more consistent you can be, with every choice, the easier it will be to get consistent quality images!  This is why professionals shoot with studio lights for products. Consistency! I can set my studio lights 1 time for a client with X product, and unless something drastically changes with that product size or shape I know I can recreate that same scenario every time for them.

So, to make sure we are all on the same page as we move forward. You should know have...

1. One background to work with for all your products
2. A location where you can create a studio space 
3. A time of day where you can consistently shoot uninterrupted

Now, if the best time or location for you is really a horrible light situation say after 7pm or you don't have a window in the space you need to use, this poses a completely different set of issues. I do have help for you on creating your own studio, working home lighting, and so on... stick around, those posts are coming!

Tuesday Tip: A lesson on Balance, White Balance

So... someone asked "how do I take good product or stock images with out purchasing a full studio"
Well here is your Tuesday Tip!  Understand White Balance!

Taking quality photos is just as much about knowing your limitations, and working with what you have, as it is about having the right equipment. Will you get as good, or better results as sending them to a professional? It depends, unfortunately the answer is many times, no.   Unless your going to spend the money on all that photography gear, lighting equipment, professional grade backgrounds, and LENSES... that is the BIG difference. However, understanding WB, will help you work with what you have and get more out of the camera you do have! Which will greatly improve your chances at professional grade images from your home.

This post originally started out as a post about lighting.. and how you can work with house lighting in order to achieve quality images. I think this is a big issue for many people trying to take photos of kids, pets, or even for their own online shops or blogs. First, if you haven't read Lighting 101, you should do that now... as we will continue to build on those fundamental

We already know that light inside our house can produce anything from a yellow, or reddish hue to blue tones on our images, due to the Kelvin rating of our "house" lighting. Tungston lighting, as well as being a major part of what you would buy for your lamp produces a yellow hue, this temp of a bulb can also  be found in many of the "hot lights" or Continuous Lighting kits sold for at home product photography. Why or Why do they do that to armature photographers? It must be part of a bigger plan, I know! Often, you will see it listed as a "Tungsten light kit". If you can stay away from that one, and opt for one with a more "white" light option.

You can find some kits and bulbs that are rated for "natural light", I've even seen these in the regular stores for an everyday lamp, and if thats what your using... trying to create your own "kit" I would really recommend spending a few extra bucks to pick those up.

Regardless of what type of kit your using, if its not a strobe or flash, you will want to run some test shots. Adjust for any color balance in your camera to make White = White. That is how digital works... all your other colors will be on target if you can make white, white.

White Balance. Every digital camera has SOME way of adjusting WB. If you don't know where yours is, I highly recommend digging around the menu or looking over the buttons to find it. This is a great way to manipulate your lighting without changing it. It will typically be listed as WB in your menu or button. 

Here is a sample, shoot with my desk lamp, on Program Mode, no flash and no WB adjustments.

The easiest way to work around this blue hue, is not Photoshop! The easiest is to turn on YOUR flash! Every camera has some sort of built in or pop up flash, if your shooting in your "P" mode, then you can command your flash on. Your flash is strong enough to override direct light on a subject typically within 5 feet from you, sometimes more. This is a great solution for kid photos, pets etc. things "on the go" it is best to control your light on your camera, then trying to adjust for each situation. However, if your doing product images, it might not be the best solution, especially if your trying to do anything closer then 4-5 feet of a subject. A direct flash at that range can cause heavy shadows, and glare or reflection off your product.

Flash - Program Mode

You see the pop-up flash did great - my glass is white, my background is mostly cream - just like it should be... with no Photoshop. The flash does cause another issue, however; that shadow... ugh, nothing ruins a great shot like a distracting shadow, and since my background wasn't pressed and flat you see every shadow IT creates. This is why we work with off camera flash or strobes, and , light modifiers, or additional light sources to remove that shadow... since this isn't that post we will continue on with simply fixing the colors when we work with "house" style lighting. 

Adjusting your WB is the next great step! If you want to work with "natural" or "available" light... you better become ONE with your WB. Learn it well, and invest in WB cards or Expodisks (which we will look into later). For now, bust out your manual, find your WB options... and set your camera to override in my case for the blue lighting... in yours it may be yellow, or even reddish depending on the temperature of your lighting. Take your next test shot using one of the preset WB modes... (if you don't know which one, this image should help! It shows the symbols commonly used on camera's preset modes along with a rough guide of the color temp.

 Not, too bad...but that exposure is still off, and it is still very blue. If your still not satisfied, look if you can "bump" the amount of adjustment your camera adds, for me I can use negative numbers to take out more of the blue... here it is again at the -3

 And if you have Photoshop... you can make a simple correction or two and end up with...Of course if you just have one image, you can remove that in Photoshop with some skill... but I prefer not to Photoshop any of my (or my clients) product images, even shadows on the background. I guess I am old school about truth in advertising or something.

So while this is passable... do you still see the blue? It just doesn't look right still does it? What it is really missing is MORE light... the quality of light isn't just blue, but it isn't giving you enough over the whole image to keep the blue shadows from coming in even with the WB mode.  So, what do you do? You can...

Add more lights

Add higher wattage lights
Add reflectors
Adjust Aperture to allow more light to hit your camera sensor 
Or resolve to fixing your image in a Photoshop style program such as Elements or Lightroom, both of which are fairly affordable. (Although if your spending $100 of software, you could just buy a small light kit and be done!)

So after adding more light and adjusting my WB, and setting my aperture to allow more light in... what did I come up with?

None to shabby for using simple house lamps and a little bit of trail and error!

However, the question is, how does your cameras preset modes look, you need to set up a stage, with a white product and do some test shots. Figure out what setting of WB, placement of light, or what light works best, along with light modifiers, aperture settings, lens, and combination of all these things works best for YOUR image. You will be surprised... if you systematically change one thing at a time, you will learn what works. Once you get to a point that your happy... write it down! Next time you will be able to re-create your best image, super fast and confidently!