How to Correctly White Balance Your Images – Wedding Photography Tips for Novices
I’ve written these two articles to give you some basic and intermediate tips to correctly color balance your photos during a wedding. As I stated in the other article, a wedding has many light sources and these light sources compete to be the main light in your photos. The problem is, if these light sources have very different color temperatures, your images will have an incorrect white balance.
Visualize a room that is illuminated by a fluorescent ceiling fixture, and in the corner of this room there is a table lamp with a tungsten bulb. These different light sources have vastly different color temperatures, and will give a color cast to your final image. You can keep this from happening by noticing the different sources of light around you. As I stated in the first article, you do not need a colored gel for your flash if you are using it to fill where the main light is daylight. Now I am going to talk about how to correctly choose a gel for your flash in more complex lighting situations.
You will normally find three major sources of light for interior shots. These sources of light are: tungsten, fluorescent, and daylight. As you enter a room, the first thing you need to do is to identify the primary source of light, then try to match the same color temperature for your fill light. Obviously, using a reflector is the easiest way. But sometimes you will need to use a flash as well. As I stated in the first article, if your main light is daylight coming in through the windows or an open door, you will not need to put a gel on your flash. Your flash is already calibrated to roughly match regular daylight hours. But if you are in a room and the primary source of light is fluorescent, then you will need to put a fluorescent gel on your flash. After putting on the gel, you just need to set the white balance on your camera to the setting for fluorescent light. There are a few types of fluorescent gels you will need to bring around with you to be able to chose the one that best matches the light in the room. The same goes for tungsten gels to match tungsten lighting. Just put on a tungsten gel and change your white balance on the camera to tungsten. The different types of tungsten gels are 1/4 CTO, 1/2 CTO, and full CTO. As with fluorescent lighting, chose the gel that best matches the interior light.
If you enter a room and see competing light sources you will need to remedy the situation. In the opening example with the room lit by candles and fluorescent lighting you have two choices: blow out the candles or turn off the overhead lighting. If the candles are not going to be in frame, or they are far enough from where you are shooting such that they are not giving off competing light then you can shoot no problem. Following this principle, if I enter a room and there is tungsten light, I am not going to shoot with my bare flash (which is made to match daylight). I need to identify that the main source is tungsten, and put on a gel to match it.
Another important thing to remember is that you will need a CTO gel for sunrise and sunset. Sunrise and Sunset are not normal daylight hours. If you were to use your flash without a gel your photos would have a bluish cast to your subjects. Because this sunrise/sunset light is so warm, a CTO gel is needed. Try different CTO gels to find one that best matches the natural light of where you are on the globe, and the time of year you are shooting.
Kevin Heslin is one of the leading Wedding and Commercial photographers in Costa Rica. To see more of his photography tips click on his blog Costa Rica Wedding Photographer Or to see destination wedding photos from Costa Rica, or travel and cultural portraits from Central America click on his website Photography in Costa Rica. This article, How to Correctly White Balance Your Images – Wedding Photography Tips for Novices is released under a creative commons attribution license.
July 22, 2011 | Posted by Kevin Heslin
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