Creative White Balance

Going to buy a White Balance tool? 

Are you going to spend £30-70 on a piece of kit that sits on the end of your lens and gives you that perfect White Balance (WB)  for your shot?

Please reconsider: by using White Balance tools to seek the perfect colour temperature, maybe you are missing out on an extra option for creative imagery.

Why not consider using WB along with shutter speed, ISO, lens, aperture and lighting, as something to be incorporated into your style?

Play with the WB settings on your camera. Use Auto WB if you like, then shoot in shadow using the setting for tungsten. Use White Balance bracketing if that’s an option on your camera. Go even further by adding colour to the light with gels and reflectors.

 

Personally, I like to shoot ‘cold’ – down around 3100 degrees K.

Then I ‘warm up’ with gelled flashes. This gives skin a nice - almost natural - hue but it leaves the background a great gloomy atmospheric blue.

… And if you must have a white balance tool, then use the cover off a yoghurt pot. Maybe you’ll be a few degrees Kelvin out but you’ll also be a few quid in.