3 Ways to Adjust your White Balance

You might ask, why is white balance important?  Adjusting your white balance correctly in camera will give you more natural colors, and therefore be easier to handle during post processing. Proper white balance will help you achieve perfect skin tones, and fight color casts.  If you don’t know what color casts are you can refer back to this blog I wrote earlier.   As you train your eye through practice and persistence you will begin to notice the glaring importance of white balance. There are a few different ways of handling your white balance.  The first is:

Auto

This is where your camera automatically adjusts the white balance for you.  In this setting the camera is giving you what it believes to be the best results. Auto white balance can be a good place to start, but it doesn’t always give you accurate result, especially in difficult lighting situations.  You can fine tune your auto white balance in most full framed cameras by adjusting the settings to shoot either warmer or cooler.  Shooting in auto is good in those circumstances (like a wedding) where the light is continually changing (such as moving from room to room) and you don’t have time to adjust it manually.  The second is:

White balance preset

You can adjust the white balance preset to accommodate the specific type of light that you are in.  There are normally 6 different settings including: Tungsten, Florescent, Daylight, Cloudy, Flash and Shade.   You can also set your white balance by using a gray card or an expo disc.  These are good to use if you’re not sure how to use Kelvin.  When I first started out, I used an expo disc.  It was a good tool to help me achieve the perfect white balance.   The third is:

Kelvin

What is Kelvin? Kelvin is the temperature of light.  You can manually adjust your Kelvin number in your camera to closest represent the color of light in a room.  I think that Kelvin is the most accurate and best way to adjust your white balance, and it is the method I prefer.  As you continue to perfect your white balance in camera and during post processing it will be easier to adjust manually using Kelvin. On my Nikon D750 you can adjust the numbers between 2,500-10,000.  5500 would be the most neutral in color, and it would represent the sun at noon. At the low end of the spectrum (2,500K) would be your very warm light, like candlelight.  At the high end of the spectrum (10,000K) you would have very cool light like in deep shade, or blue hour.  As you increase your Kelvin number the more you warm up your photo, and conversely the more you decrease your Kelvin number the cooler your photo will be.  For Example: If the light is very warm (like candlelight) you will need to offset that orange tint in camera with a cooler (lower) Kelvin number.  To use Kelvin, you will need to observe the light in front of you and how they are affecting your subject.  This comes with time and practice.  So be patient!  See the examples below.

 TIP: When I use Kelvin, I like to first take a picture of pavement, or something neutral in color. I then adjust my Kelvin number so that it looks as close as I can get it to the natural color of the pavement. This helps me have a good starting point.

Conclusion

So, in summary, there are three ways to adjust your white balance.  Auto, Preset, and Kelvin.  Kelvin is manually setting your white balance. Auto is letting your camera choose for you.  Preset isn’t as fine-tuned as Kelvin but can be adjusted according to the light that you are in by using a gray card, expo disc, or choosing the light setting. White balance is an important tool in making more accurate or artistically intentional coloring in your photographs.  I hope you have found this to be helpful!

Thanks for reading!   

How to Calibrate a Sigma Lens

I love my sigma lenses.  They are fast and sharp, but every now and then they have to be calibrated. When you start to notice it missing focus then you need to either send it off to be calibrated or you can do it yourself!

These are the items you will need to do it yourself:

Camera with the sigma lens

The Sigma USB Dock found here. (about $60)

A Lens Focus Calibration Tool Card is helpful but not necessary. They are inexpensive and, in my opinion, worth it. If you don’t use one you will need an object that is high contrast you can focus on that will help you see where your focus is falling. 

A Tape Measure (optional if you have a lens focus card).

Patience!

Steps:

1.)    Now you are ready to set up your test scene.  Place the lens focusing card or object on a flat and level surface.  This can be the ground or a desk.  Then stretch out the tape measure. Make sure it is stretched out behind and in front of your focusing object.

2.)    Now you are ready to take your test photos. Set your camera to the widest aperture. This will help you determine where the focus is falling. Now take your test photos!  You will take one at 1 ft away, the next one at 2 ft, then around 6 ft and then beyond 6 ft.

3.)    Load your photos into light room or view them straight from your SD card. Zoom in to see where your focus is falling. 

4.)    Take your lens off the camera and attach it to the Sigma dock. It will check for the latest version of firmware.  If you need to update it now would be the time.  Then select the customization button.  Then you can click on focus setting button. And it will take you to a screen that looks like this:

Now you can adjust the focus forwards or backwards according to your needs. As you can see mine was tending to front focus, so I had to push the settings in the positive direction. Make your adjustments slowly and incrementally.  Then select the rewriting button. It will update the focus and now it is time to take your 4 test shots again.  The process starts over from here!

This can be tedious, but it is worth the effort to ensure your focus lands exactly where you want it to!  Check it on occasion to ensure that your lens is focusing correctly! Calibrating a zoom lens is a little different.  You can go to the video tutorial here by Sigma.

 Hope this is helpful! Thanks for reading!

How to Give a Critique

Wow. Let’s just say if you go on the internet at all you will be bombarded by people improperly giving critique.  Critiquing can be so helpful and really aid you in growing as a creator.  It is absolutely necessary to put your work in front of those you trust to gain a new perspective on your work. I know this might be a sensitive topic for some so please allow me to gently offer some thoughts and rules to giving someone a critique.

1. Don’t give one unless the creator asks for one.

I feel like this is so obvious, but some people feel entitled to give their opinion without anyone actually asking for it.  If you are guilty of this it is completely understandable.  Once you’ve learned a new skill yourself, you want so desperately to pass it on to others.  So perhaps your critique comes from a good place.  However, you have the power as a critic to destroy that joy someone gets from creating.  Consider that with the weight it deserves.  Think of when you were just starting out, and how you were just trying to discover how things worked. Think of the fun you had from just the creative process!  Now think of a time when you shared your creation, and someone ripped it apart. How did you feel? Were you completely defeated? Was that critique offered taken in a constructive and helpful way or did you just want to give up.  It is so easy to dehumanize someone, especially on the internet. Remember that your words have power!

2.  The Feedback Sandwich

Look and think about what you want to say and check the tone in which you deliver this feedback.  Point out the positive things that you think were executed well.  If you can’t come up with anything positive, it’s best to just keep your mouth shut. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all.  Most of the time you will be able to come up with something positive to say to encourage the creator.  Remember, you want to build them up, not tear them down.  Once you’ve offered some things you think they’ve executed well, then offer specific things they could have improved upon. Making it specific will give the creator something tangible to work on.  Improvement is actually possible at this point and you as the critic aren’t just being hateful.  Next, add something positive again and encourage them to keep working to be even better at their craft.  This will help your feedback to be well received and valued.

3. Check Your Motives

This is really a summary of the other two points.  It goes back to- are you being asked for a critique and is it your goal to help the other person or not?  It’s easy to be prideful when giving a critique.  It’s easy to elevate yourself over this other person who is asking you for your opinion.  It’s easy to tear someone else down to make yourself feel better.  Giving a critique should be helpful and not harmful.  If it is not your intent to be helpful, then it is best to refrain from offering your opinion.   

A Note About Receiving A Critique:

Now when you receive a critique it is easy to be hurt.  This is especially true if your expectations are not met. We as creators put our heart and soul into our art.  Before you react to your critique give it some time.  Just sit with it for a while.  Ask yourself why you are hurt? Was it personal?  Are you so emotionally attached to what you created that you cannot stand back from it and receive a critique?  If you cannot be objective, then you need to step away from it for a while.  Breaks are OK! The first few times you receive a critique are hard, but you do get used to it over time.  And both giving and receiving critique will help you hone your craft! So, get out there and find a group you trust.  Before you know it, you will be improving by leaps and bounds.

I hope you find this helpful!  I think there are some solid principles in here that you can apply to whatever your hobby (or your friend’s hobbies) might be.  Thanks for reading!