Feedback on white balance/colour cast
Discussion
So I was lucky enough to be at the Taj Mahal the other day (yes I know, worst I've been to the Taj Mahal thread ever). It's a hard thing to photograph, it's white, in smog and under bright sunlight.
The JPG straight off camera, with a CPL to try and cut through the haze, the building comes out with a pinkish colour cast like this:-
After processing the raw in DxO Optics the exported JPG is much whiter:-
I'm interested to know which rendering you all prefer; the original or the processed.
Thanks for your feedback.
The JPG straight off camera, with a CPL to try and cut through the haze, the building comes out with a pinkish colour cast like this:-
After processing the raw in DxO Optics the exported JPG is much whiter:-
I'm interested to know which rendering you all prefer; the original or the processed.
Thanks for your feedback.
I assumed the original was taken in twilight, and hence the colour cast being correct?
If that's not the case then good work on correcting it. I much prefer the white version though.
I guess in future taking a white balance card may help, BUT if the mis-colouration is being caused by smog between you and the subject, then the WB card won't help at all! In which case shooting RAW will be your best bet, as you can sometimes do a better job of WB correction in PP using Raw rather than Jpeg.
If that's not the case then good work on correcting it. I much prefer the white version though.
I guess in future taking a white balance card may help, BUT if the mis-colouration is being caused by smog between you and the subject, then the WB card won't help at all! In which case shooting RAW will be your best bet, as you can sometimes do a better job of WB correction in PP using Raw rather than Jpeg.
mrmr96 said:
I assumed the original was taken in twilight, and hence the colour cast being correct?
If that's not the case then good work on correcting it. I much prefer the white version though.
I guess in future taking a white balance card may help, BUT if the mis-colouration is being caused by smog between you and the subject, then the WB card won't help at all! In which case shooting RAW will be your best bet, as you can sometimes do a better job of WB correction in PP using Raw rather than Jpeg.
I would have said always rather than sometimes since you are working from original rather than previously processed data.If that's not the case then good work on correcting it. I much prefer the white version though.
I guess in future taking a white balance card may help, BUT if the mis-colouration is being caused by smog between you and the subject, then the WB card won't help at all! In which case shooting RAW will be your best bet, as you can sometimes do a better job of WB correction in PP using Raw rather than Jpeg.
Of course that is not the only aspect of PP required in this case is sharpness and detail are the objectives but it would certainly be a good place to start - assuming that the camer in question has RAW capability.
If not, and the potential problem is spotted at the time, either try to set a custom white balance or, perhaps likely to be more appropriate in the circumstances, use a few different WB settings for different versions of the same image to provide more options in later PP.
Auto WB is a great thing but in uncontrolled conditions (e.g. outdoors with changing light and difficult scenes and conditions) it can sometimes choose options that are half decent compromises for the scene as seen but totally miss what would be preferable for the end result.
All really interesting, thanks.
I originally preferred the pinkish one as there was more contrast between the building and the sky. Having seen your better efforts of improving the contrast I now prefer the white versions.
The colour was partly caused by smog and partly the angle of the light, the sun was quite low in the sky (although it was morning rather than evening). I guess Auto WB got it wrong.
How have you managed to improve the contrast so much? I could have another crack at the raw files. I was shooting in RAW+Fine but switched that off halfway round as I was running out of card space.
My comment on the CPL and haze was badly worded, I meant that I used it to get a bluer sky so I would get better contrast to the white structure to try and bring it out of the haze.
I originally preferred the pinkish one as there was more contrast between the building and the sky. Having seen your better efforts of improving the contrast I now prefer the white versions.
The colour was partly caused by smog and partly the angle of the light, the sun was quite low in the sky (although it was morning rather than evening). I guess Auto WB got it wrong.
How have you managed to improve the contrast so much? I could have another crack at the raw files. I was shooting in RAW+Fine but switched that off halfway round as I was running out of card space.
My comment on the CPL and haze was badly worded, I meant that I used it to get a bluer sky so I would get better contrast to the white structure to try and bring it out of the haze.
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