Have you ever noticed a blue, yellow or orange color cast in a photo from a digital camera?
Did the photo fail to capture the scene the way you saw it?
Are you looking for the best way to remove a color cast from a photograph?
You came to the right place. On this site you will find tutorials on color calibration for digital cameras with details on custom white balance in camera, gray balance adjustments in software, and recommended gray cards.
Frequently, a photograph from a digital camera can be improved by a simple adjustment to the white balance or gray balance of the image to remove a color cast. This simple adjustment makes the neutral gray and white areas of the image neutral in appearance. A global white or gray balance adjustment will also adjust the color balance of all the other colors in the image, with the result being a more pleasing image.
There are two approaches to implementing a white balance or gray balance adjustment: 1) in camera with a custom white balance setting, and 2) in software after the photograph is taken. Both approaches are simple to implement. You can choose the approach that fits your workflow and goals.
The terms white balance and gray balance have similar meaning in terms of getting the neutral balance of the image to be neutral with no color cast. The white balance term is used more commonly with setting the neutral balance in the camera. The gray balance term is used more commonly with setting the neutral balance in software.
The advantage of setting a custom white balance in your digital camera is the efficiency gained when shooting many images. I will explain this in more detail as I describe the necessary steps to implement a custom white balance setting in a digital camera (See the navigation links at the top left side of this page).
The advantages of implementing the gray balance adjustment in software after the photo is taken are the flexibility, preview feedback and precise control available through the software. I will explain this in more detail as I describe the necessary steps to implement gray balance adjustments in software (See the navigation links at the top left side of this page).
Both approaches require a neutral reference object in the scene that you photograph. The most common neutral reference object is a white card or gray card. I use the Robin Myers Digital Gray Cards and the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. A white balance target is included in the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport and is intended for use as the neutral reference object to create a custom white balance setting in your digital camera. The Robin Myers Digital Gray Cards can be used for creating a custom white balance setting in your digital camera, or for a neutral reference in the scene.
For gray balance adjustments in software, I will give examples of adjustments made with Adobe Photoshop® CS4 software, including Camera Raw, but many other software applications have a similar tool for this adjustment.
I firmly believe that these products and procedures will help you improve the appearance of your digital photos, and the workflows I describe are simple enough for anyone who is currently using a digital camera and post processing software.
Note: According to Merriam-Webster.com, one definition of calibrate is: "to adjust precisely for a particular function." This site is devoted to instructions that will help you make precise adjustments to digital photographs, either in camera or in software, to achieve better color in the photographs. The term "better" could mean more accurate, more pleasing, or more natural. All of these terms are subjective which is appropriate when describing color since color is a subjective experience. On this site you will find example photographs, before and after adjustment, so that you can determine for yourself what "better color" means to you.
Note: To our friends outside the United States, I am using gray to refer to the colour grey.
Note: Photoshop is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and other countries.