I need help with white balance!

[karak]

I took some pictures of my son at the apple orchard - and I just used the auto white balance. I shot in RAW - so i was trying to figure out which white balance I should have used - and I'm stumped! Any help is appreciated. Left is auto, right is cloudy. Then top is cloudy and bottom is auto... Also - general C&C is appreciated too!

[mcbit]

For me the first and last (auto I think) are the best but I do think that those too could use a little more saturation.

[tbnj]

"Cloudy" is looking better on my screen, and they're very cute shots. I really like the first one.

[tshap]

I like the warmer tones his face has in the cloudy versions. He's adorable by the way...

[gaopa2]

I also like warmer tones for skin. The easiest way to get WB right is with the Expodisc...they are great! Cheers, Bill P.

[felix.reichardt]

The cloudy looks better there seems to be a slight red color casts. There is a tutorial "Corect color like a pro" somewhere on the camel. When I applied it I was able to get rid of that red cast then applied a slight photo warming filter and it looks better IMHO.

[Rodeoshooter]

I would use "Shade" as this will give you warmer tones than any you have posted. You are either very lucky or very smart because you shot in RAW. Best move you could have made.

[karak]

Thanks everyone for all the tips. KellyL convinced me to change to RAW - so I have him to thank! I am reposting with the "shade" choice.... I like it! Thanks!

[Rodeoshooter]

Glad you paid attention to KellyL. RAW is more work but it is a much better way to go. I am glad you like the "shade" choice. I think it looks better as well.

Originally Posted by karak

Thanks everyone for all the tips. KellyL convinced me to change to RAW - so I have him to thank! I am reposting with the "shade" choice.... I like it! Thanks!

[trixiebell]

Hi Kara!!!! Def. shoot raw, then you can make the changes you need for your wb. Sometimes I will change the temp. of my auto wb in Lightroom, or like the others suggest change the setting.
What a cute guy you have! I like the last edit you have done, but might take a wee bit of red out, jmo!

[Ardea]

If you happen to be using Adobe Camera Raw (or maybe other editing programs have this capability?), you can use the eyedropper to select your neutral gray, which often leads to everything else falling into place. Sometimes works like a charm, other times not so well--can give finer tuning than the cloudy, etc. presets. Just a thought.

BTW, I love the photo!

[karak]

Originally Posted by Ardea

If you happen to be using Adobe Camera Raw (or maybe other editing programs have this capability?), you can use the eyedropper to select your neutral gray, which often leads to everything else falling into place. Sometimes works like a charm, other times not so well--can give finer tuning than the cloudy, etc. presets. Just a thought.

BTW, I love the photo!

Hey! Look at that.... I was wondering what "custom" was... I've only been using photoshop elements for about 3 weeks now - so I have a TON to learn! The eyedropper worked on a photo where I had a neutral gray... and I also used the sliders to reduce the red as Lisa suggested! Fun! Thanks for sharing!

[Athena]

very cute! I like the cloudy versions.

[Rain Lily]

Kara I just played a bit with the white balance on 2 of these, using a Levels adjustment layer. The originals are on the left.

first, the one from your initial post that was "auto" and the fix.

[Rain Lily]

Then the "shade" version.

[Rain Lily]

oops, sorry, I forgot to resize properly on the last one.

[Benji]

This should have been quite easy. In ACR just select the white balance eyedropper and click on the white stripe in his sweater. Instant white balance.

benji