setting white balance basketball

[shaggyrockmer]

Can someone please post a "picture how to" on how to properly set a white balance in a basketball gym PLEASE. I have talked with so many people and seems some are doing it different ways which is confusing me. I would really like to take some pictures at my daughters basketball games but I normally get green or orange pictures and when I set the white balance, "or at least try to" set the white balance I get a blue looking image.

[bondarnes]

It would help a bunch if we knew which camera.

[GUER03]

I shoot basketball games in large arenas and the lighting is going to be much brighter than those of HS gyms and recreation centers. I use a Lastolite Ezybalance Greycard.

http://www.lastolite.com/ezybalance.php

It makes a huge difference and just takes a second. I am about to go to an ExpoDisc very soon but the Lastolite has worked great for me. I shoot a Nikon D300 and a Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 for NBA games.

All I do is have someone hold the grey card for me, fill the frame with it and shoot it where the action will be. Then I select that image for my custom white balance setting in my camera and done! That simple. Good luck, I'm sure there are some great people here that can also give you their way but that's worked for me. Good luck.

[shaggyrockmer]

Originally Posted by bondarnes

It would help a bunch if we knew which camera.

canon 30D 70-200 mm Canon lense

[LSCSN.com]

Setting a custom white balance is going to give you the "best" results I'm sure unless you are willing to overpower the available light with flashes or strobes, but you probably don't want to go to all that hassle :).

I would dig out the Canon manual and check on how to custom white balance and use a grey card like Albert has suggested. That will be the least expensive way to get what you are looking for and then just tweak as need in post production.

[GUER03]

Oh yeah, and shoot in RAW for better post production tweaking. Good luck.

[shaggyrockmer]

ok, would this be wrong as a guy has told me in the past. take a picture in RAW mode. open that picture in elements. take the eye dropper and get the temperature of the whitest color in the picture and set the same temperature as see on the screen to that in the camera? will that work?

[GUER03]

ummmm, don't know. I've never done that so I couldn't help you with that. Sorry. Maybe it has an 'Auto Color' selection that could help you out and get you closer? I've never used PSE, only Photoshop. Sorry

[bondarnes]

I'm not sure if it works the same way with PS Elements. In PS you open a raw image containing the graycard, put the eyedropper on the graycard, click it and you will see the color change. Then select all images and apply that color balance to all of them.

Doing a custom white balance in the camera would mainly apply to shooting jpegs. It doesn't really matter that much if you shoot raw and have an image with a graycard or white balancer of some sort.

[shaggyrockmer]

Originally Posted by bondarnes

I'm not sure if it works the same way with PS Elements. In PS you open a raw image containing the graycard, put the eyedropper on the graycard, click it and you will see the color change. Then select all images and apply that color balance to all of them.

Doing a custom white balance in the camera would mainly apply to shooting jpegs. It doesn't really matter that much if you shoot raw and have an image with a graycard or white balancer of some sort.

I want to shoot a lot of photos so I'd probably be shooting jpeg. But what your telling me is that If I shoot RAW I dont have to set the WB, but I can just correct it later in PS elements? Or am I waaay off.

[bondarnes]

If PS Elements works the same as PS and can open raw images from your camera, then yes you can correct color balance during post processing.

[Matt_G]

take a picture in RAW mode. open that picture in elements. take the eye dropper and get the temperature of the whitest color in the picture and set the same temperature as see on the screen to that in the camera? will that work?

This is what I do. I use Lightroom and sync the settings... then you can adjust the few that still might need more tweaking. RAW is the shiznit if you worried about colors

[shaggyrockmer]

ok, 1 more question and I hope this doesn't agitate anyone. But whats the difference in a white/grey card and a plain white piece of paper? will they both give me the same reading I'm looking for? I'm ultimately looking for a planned way to shoot JPEG not RAW as I will be shooting A LOT of photos.

[Matt_G]

Cards are cheap ... what do you consider a lot of photos?

[shaggyrockmer]

Originally Posted by Matt_G

Cards are cheap ... what do you consider a lot of photos?

around 300