The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the Art of Photography coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
Part 1
3 photographs
In most photography there is no need to be exact about colour temperature; it is enough to know when the light is not white, and if only by a little, or by a lot. For this exercise you will need a subject that you can move around and which does not have a strong colour. A friend’s face would do well. The other thing that you will need is less reliable – very clear weather. Take three photographs, one in full sunlight during the middle of the day (that is, mid morning to mid afternoon), one in shade during the middle of the day, and one in sunlight when the sun is close to the horizon. Make sure that the camera’s White Balance is set to ‘daylight’, not ‘Automatic’ (this is irrelevant with colour slide film).
Now, you already know that full midday sunlight is colourless, so compare the other two kinds of lighting with this. The images will show these differences when viewed side by side, but it is important to judge differences at the time of shooting with your own eye. Although it is not easy, study what you are photographing in shade and in low sunlight very carefully, and try to commit the colour of the light to memory. Make notes to help you remember.
With the images in front of you, compare the results that you see with what you remember. Are there any surprises? Much depends on the weather, but if the sky had been an intense blue and the sunset or sunrise orange-red, you should find that the colour differences between the three images are considerably more extreme than you remember them to have been. Make notes about what you discover for reference.
Part 2
9 photographs
For this exercise you will decide what correction a scene needs, if any at all. Look at the three images you took for the last exercise. The midday sunlit one is already lit in a neutral light, but what of the other two? Do you think the picture taken in the shade would look better if it were completely neutral? Or just slightly less blue? And the low- sun photograph? Would you prefer it less orange?
Take a similar situation to the last one and shoot the same three kinds of picture, but for each one vary the camera’s white balance setting: take one at the daylight/sunlight setting, a second at the shade setting, and a third at Auto.
Compare the three versions for each. What differences do you notice? Which white balance setting do you prefer for each of the three lighting conditions?
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Equipment
Nikon D4
24/70 f2.8 lens
Tripod
Method & Approach
Part One
For part one I decided to take three pictures of my son. Whilst taking these pictures the camera remained in Multi Segment Metering mode along with the White Balance set to Daylight.
Each picture for part one was captured using the camera in a “handheld” position.
Part Two
For this part of the exercise I decided to use a local park bench, this would allow me the opportunity to capture the setting from early morning to sunset.
Each series of pictures for part two was captured with the camera positioned on a tripod.
Please see pictures and captions below.
Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there might be a quality reduction when enlarging.
Part One
Picture 1 – time 12:30 • White Balance – Daylight • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 2.8 • Speed 1/125th second • ISO 100
Picture 2 – time 13:00 • White Balance -Daylight • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 4.0 • Speed 1/750th second • ISO 100
Picture 3 – time 19:00 • White Balance -Daylight • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 5.6 • Speed 1/40th second • ISO 100
Picture 1
I took this picture of my son in a shaded area with a white wall behind him. I deliberately did not meter on his face and left the camera in multi segment metering mode and to comply with the exercise, I put the cameras white balance into the daylight setting. Even though the exposure is reasonably correct, having chosen these options the camera has metered the background and with it produced a very cold colour balance.
Picture 2
This picture was taken at a different location about 30 minutes later. Again I did not meter his face or change the cameras metering mode from the above image (multi segment metering) and the cameras white balance setting remained on daylight. Again the exposure is reasonably correct and due to the background this time being characteristically less harsh the camera has metered the whole scene and produced a much warmer picture.
Picture 3
In this picture we can see the shadows cast behind the subject are telling us that the sun is very low and during this late time of the day (if the sun is shinning) the light conditions are naturally warmer providing a totally different characteristic to the light conditions. Unfortunately this picture has a very slight amount of camera shake but due to the colour characteristics being so relevant to this exercise I have decided to use it. The exposure is a little dark and I could have used a reflector but keeping it simple was the approach here. Once again I did not meter the subjects face or change the cameras metering mode and with the background and light condition being warmer still the camera has metered the scene and produced an almost orangey colour cast and balance to the picture.
Personal comments
We can visually see this difference by quickly running our eyes across the three images and in my opinion I prefer the less harder light conditions captured in pictures two and three.
Part Two
1) Early Morning
Picture 4a – time 06:30 • White Balance – Auto • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/90th second • ISO 100
Picture 4b – time 06:30 • White Balance – Shade • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/90th second • ISO 100
Picture 4c – time 06:30 • White Balance -Daylight • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/90th second • ISO 100
Picture 4a – White Balance – Auto
With the White Balance set to Auto the colour balance in this picture appears much colder than that of the other two images and although it was previously a cold night which we can see from the frost still visible on the bench the temperature certainly wasn’t below freezing at the time of capture.
Picture 4b – White Balance – Shade
With the White Balance set to Shade the colour cast is totally wrong, the colour of the concrete has a green tinge and the grass has a slightly yellow characteristic, this is not a good rendition of the conditions at the time of taking this picture.
Picture 4c – White Balance – Daylight
With the White Balance set to Daylight a better rendition has been captured which more accurately reflects the conditions at this time of day.
2) Afternoon
Picture 5a – time 15:00 • White Balance – Auto • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/180th second • ISO 100
Picture 5b – time 15:00 • White Balance – Shade • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/180th second • ISO 100
Picture 5c – time 15:00 • White Balance – Daylight • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/180th second • ISO 100
Picture 5a – White Balance – Auto
With the White Balance set to Auto the colour balance in this picture is very similar to that of the image taken using the Daylight setting but on closer reflection the characteristics are slightly colder. The wood colouring of the bench has a bluey tinge to it and the concrete is harder in contrast. Although this picture is not a bad rendition, the true colour reflection of the day at the time of taking this picture is not correct.
Picture 5b – White Balance – Shade
With the White Balance set to Shade the colour cast in this picture is totally wrong. The complete picture has a yellow characteristic, although this characteristic does considerably warm the picture. Again this is not a good rendition of the conditions at the time of taking this picture.
Picture 5c – White Balance – Daylight
With the White Balance set to Daylight a better rendition has been captured which more accurately reflects the conditions at this time of day. Both the wood colour of the bench and the grass colour are far more in keeping with a true likeness for the time of day.
3) Evening
Picture 6a – time 19:00 • White Balance – Auto • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/125th second • ISO 100
Picture 6b – time 19:00 • White Balance – Shade • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/125th second • ISO 100
Picture 5c – time 19:00 • White Balance – Daylight • Metering – Multi Segment • Aperture f 8.0 • Speed 1/125th second • ISO 100
Picture 6a – White Balance – Auto
With the White Balance set to Auto the colour balance in this picture is less warm that that of the same picture taken using the daylight setting. The wooden back rest is colder and the grass colour is too dark for the time of day, this picture is not a true colour rendition for the time day when this picture was taken.
Picture 6b – White Balance – Shade
With the White Balance set to Shade the colour cast in this picture very warm. The whole picture again has a yellow characteristic and like in the above picture (Afternoon) it certainly warms the picture but this is not a true rendition of the conditions at the time of taking this picture.
Picture 6c – White Balance – Daylight
With the White Balance set to Daylight a better rendition has been captured which more accurately reflects the conditions at this time of day. Both the wood colour of the bench and the grass colour are far more in keeping with a true likeness for the time of day.
What have I learnt from this exercise
I have learnt from this exercise that “judging colour temperature” via means of the cameras onboard white balance settings can have a huge effect on the overall picture. Although the time of day and capture for each picture series in part two was the same (give or take a few seconds), I have learnt that using either Auto or an unsuitably selected white balance can introduce incorrect colour balances that ultimately ruin a good picture.
Thoughts and Reflection
Looking at the above statement in an “outside the box” fashion, I mention that an incorrect white balance can ultimately ruin a perfectly good picture …. but it could equally be said that in the mind of the photographer having certain control available when capturing an image, the white balance settings could be used as a creative tool to enhance certain conditions, i.e. to introduce a certain more coldness or alternatively enhance warmth.
Having the ability on modern DSLR’s to shoot in RAW mode has created a certain amount of freedom from some of the previous problems associated with colour cast and to some extent an alternate white balance can be substituted later when editing …. but having said that, caution must still be applied if taking pictures in a room with two or more different incandescent light temperature values.
stingray493 