Wow. I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I started this series! This week we will be focusing on White Balance. This is something I never touched in my amateur photography adventures, but it has definitely shined a new light on things. Basically, there are different types of light depending on the source. There's a whole scientific explanation behind it, but I won't get into that.
Certain types of light give off a hue or tone to the objects it casts light on. The sun gives the most "pure" light - white light. It allows us to see colors for what they truly are. Though even the sun can cast color in a different way. Indoor lights all do different things the the hue of color as well, depending on the source of the light. Fluorescent light bulbs and incandescent light bulbs are each going to make your photo look one way or another.
So, this week I got to try my hand at using the custom white balance setting on my camera. Basically, you take a picture of a white sheet of paper and tell your camera that, in these lighting conditions, this is what white looks like and the camera will adjust accordingly.
Here's what I came up with:
Image 1 - Aperture Priority:
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 1600
Shutter Speed: 1/4000
White Balance: Auto
Image 2 - Aperture Priority:
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 1600
Shutter Speed: 1/4000
White Balance: Tungsten Setting
Image 3 - Aperture Priority:
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 1600
Shutter Speed: 1/4000
White Balance: Custom
There isn't a whole lot of difference between the first and third picture. But, you can definitely see that the color is more correct. The third picture better represents what the item (a lamp berger) actually looks like.
I am so excited about this project. I have learned SO MUCH!!
Awesome that the third picture is correct in terms of color! Such cool results for such an easy step!
ReplyDeleteThat tungsten setting is crazy, I love your last one. I am also really enjoying these lessons!
ReplyDeleteWhat would you say the light was like in the room when you took these pics? Considering that the change isn't huge between 1 and 3 would it be safe to say there was a lot of natural light in the room?
ReplyDeleteAmanda, probably similar to the light found outside on a cloudy day. I opened all the windows and turned on all the lights in the surrounding area to get as much light in the room as possible. There wasn't enough natural light to allow me to lower my ISO without my pictures coming out too dark.
ReplyDeleteWow, great photos that really show the difference. What kind of camera/lens do you have? Your pictures are so very clear!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I don't even know what a lamp berger is, lol, but it's pretty!