Hi,

I like to shoot against a white backdrop. I light it so it goes white without detail. My white balance is set for flash/day light. I use the white, black and a gray square on Macbeth color card to color correct in post production. [I use one of Dave Cross' techniques for finding the correct gray square] This technique works beautifully most of the time---but with the white I sometimes get a blue cast to the backdrop. I can select the white and create a new layer with just the background and put this layer on top of the curves adjustment layer, but this seems to defeat the purpose of lighting it properly. Any suggestions?

Hi again,

Well I came up with a fix--I sampled the backdrop as my white point, but I am still wondering why I get the blue cast when using the color card...

Hey Steve,
Just out of curiousity any reason why you don't Custom White Balance and opt for using the preset WB settings on your camera? I know on my camera the preset WB settings aren't all that desirable. I've been using Crockett's new balance smarter and i'm really liking the results i've been getting. I've not tried the other products like expo discs etc.

Inquiring Minds want to know?

Cris...

Hi Steve,

I'm with Chris in that a Custom White Balance is your best bet. If you still get a blue cast in the whites (possibly from some blue reflective material behind you?) try using Selective Color... It's quite the discriminating color adjustment. I plan to write a short lesson about it soon.

Good luck.

Tony

Thanks Cris and Tony,

I guess part of my answer is comfort zone/stubbornness/stuck-in-the-mud-don't-wanna-change mentality. I liked shooting transparencies where I put the color temperature of the lights where I wanted. In general I like the [about] 5,500 K setting on my camera [it's actually 5,700 K according to the ACR converter]--I treat it like I was shooting trannies and the color card works great---I "know" how it is going to react to different lights---except in this one situation. Tony, you raise a very good point. I work out of a co-op studio where we all share backdrops and replace them as needed. It is quite possible that someone got a "super white" backdrop that actually has more blue than "plain" white.

Hmm, I suppose 200 degrees K could make the difference...

I am really looking forward to your selective color lesson.

But if white reads at 255, 255, 255 where is any color at all coming from?