Can white water be used as a white-balance reference for long-exposure shots?
Asked 8/15/2017
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I shot some long-exposure water photos using a variable ND filter, and I suspect the filter added a color tint. The flowing water and wave foam looked white to my eye. Can I use that white water as a white-balance reference when editing, or is that unreliable?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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I'd say "Sure, try it". Worst case is that it may not be close enough, and then back it out and don't do that. But lacking better means, it can also be better. Many things that "look white" are very suitable for adjusting white balance. White porcelain dishes, white church steeples, a white envelope, white pizza signs, white polka dots on the kids pajamas, all can work quite well, if they are supposed to look white (not off-white).
Planning ahead with a white card will be more guaranteed, but anything already there that "should look white" can work quite well. More on that point at http://www.scantips.com/lights/whitebalance.html (including example of some white water).
Originally by user38978. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user38978
8y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—sometimes. If the water or foam is truly neutral and still contains detail, it can be a useful white-balance reference and may get you close.
But there are limits:
- If the “white” water is clipped (all RGB channels maxed out), it won’t work well for WB.
- Water that only appears white because of reflections or lighting may not be truly neutral.
Best practice is still to use a proper gray card or white card under the same light. That’s the most reliable way to correct any tint from a variable ND filter.
If you still have the filter, a better after-the-fact method is to recreate the lighting conditions and photograph a gray card both with and without the filter at the same ND setting. Then compare those shots in your RAW editor and use that correction on the original images.
So: white water can be worth trying, but treat it as an approximation unless you know it isn’t blown out and is actually neutral.
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