How can I fix yellow photos under fluorescent gym lighting with a Canon Rebel XSi?
Asked 9/29/2013
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2 answers
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I’m photographing my grandson’s judo lessons in a school gym with a Canon Rebel XSi (450D). I usually shoot in full Auto because my vision is not very good. Under the fluorescent lights, some photos come out yellowish, especially shots taken from farther away, while close shots look better. I can’t turn the lights off and may not be able to use flash. What camera settings or techniques can help correct the color?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
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Your camera has the ability to manually set the white balance. Under most circumstances, the auto white balance feature works fine, but since it's very likely you're shooting JPEG, correction after the fact when it does get it wrong is probably going to degrade your image quality a bit. at any rate, page 90 of the English version of the manual for your camera is the instructions for setting white balance. This is needed because, while the white under the lights appears white to us, it really isn't and so the camera needs to have some idea how far from that condition it is and sometimes you have to tell it.
You may also need to learn to shoot in a different mode (such as shutter priority) to control this, I'm not entirely sure on that front (I shoot Nikon, so it's different) reading what the manual has to offer. In any event, I actually recommend you learn to shoot with shutter priority for sports, better control, less likely to have blurry pictures. You can always switch back to auto for other purposes.
One thing to remember... if you change the setting, don't forget to reset it to auto again when done!
Originally by user472. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user472
12y ago
0
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The main issue is likely white balance. Fluorescent gym lights often fool Auto White Balance, especially when lighting is mixed or the scene color changes.
Try this:
- Switch from full Auto to P (Program) mode so the camera still handles exposure but lets you change more settings.
- Set White Balance to Fluorescent instead of Auto.
- If needed, use a Custom White Balance by photographing a white or gray card under the gym lights and setting that as your reference.
- Some gyms use lighting around roughly 3500K–4300K, so a manual color temperature or WB correction may help if your camera allows it.
If the photos are already taken, you can often improve them in photo-editing software by correcting the white balance. A white part of a judo uniform can sometimes serve as a useful neutral reference.
The difference between close and distant shots may happen because the camera is seeing different colors in the scene and choosing the wrong white balance automatically.
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