How should two wedding photographers match white balance across multiple cameras when shooting RAW?
Asked 10/10/2016
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2 answers
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My wife and I shoot weddings together, often moving between very different lighting conditions such as outdoor greenery and indoor venues with strongly colored walls or ceilings. We both shoot RAW, but sometimes we choose different in-camera white balance settings, which makes batch editing and syncing color between our images harder later.
For consistent post-processing, is it better for both of us to use one fixed white balance for a period of time, set a custom white balance from the same white/gray target, or leave the cameras on auto white balance? We may also be using different camera models.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
6
It doesn't matter if you're saving the raw data.
The in-camera white balance setting only affects jpegs generated in-camera and the preview image attached to the raw data. It has no effect whatsoever on the raw data itself. When you convert the raw data to a color image you can choose whatever WB you want. At most the influence of the in-camera WB at the time the image was shot is limited to the WB applied when you first open the file and your raw conversion application interprets the data in the raw file to create a viewable image on your monitor. But that interpretation is just one of many that can be extracted from the raw data. You are free to change it to whatever value you want and the application will reinterpret the original data and display it.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
If you shoot RAW, the in-camera white balance does not change the RAW data itself. It mainly affects the JPEG preview and the starting white balance your RAW software shows when you first open the files. You can fully change WB later in post.
For consistency between two shooters, avoid Auto WB if matching files is important, because it can vary from shot to shot and between camera bodies. A better approach is to use the same white balance setting for the same lighting, or set a custom white balance from the same white/gray target when the light changes. If conditions are changing quickly, keep one setting for a while and reset when the light meaningfully changes.
If you use different camera models, matching may still differ slightly even with the same WB setting. In that case, shooting a gray card or color checker reference can help you synchronize color more accurately in post.
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