White balancing using photoshop

[nicreef]

One of my biggest struggle when taking photo of my tank is my white balancing. Especially so when i am doing it under the blue lights of my LED.

After searching the net for the last 1 week it seems like the following method is the best in terms of getting the correct colouring back to the picture but was wondering if any other reefers got better method. the method i am using now should be good for both dslr and iphone taken photos.

For the colour to come out we need to set the GREY, WHITE and BLACK point of your photo. i tried using just white and black but the colour is still a bit off from what i see in the tank from top view.

The hardest to set which i always set first is GREY. Below are the steps to do so:

step 1 (create a new layer): layer>new>layer (or shift ctrl n): use default setting nothing to adjust (refer to picture if you are lost on where to find layer)

step 2 (fill created layer with 50% grey): edit> fill (shift f5): use default settings here which is 50% grey

step 3 (set grey from normal to difference) : on the lower right corner where you see all your layers (red circle) change from normal to difference

once done picture should be as follows:

step 4 (set threshold) : layer new>adjustment layer>threshold

picture should turn black as follow after which click on adjustment( red circle )

you should see the orange circle below with the white arrow. slide the arrow all the way to the left (short cut: slide to the left side of hill will do) image should be as picture below. lot of white with some black.

step 5 (mark the location you have identified as grey) : right click on the green circle and choose colour sample tool. go to the black area and left click on it. You should see the same as 2nd green circle above. a crosshair with number 1 on it. should you get your location wrong, you can always drag the cross hair to the location you want.

step 6: once done, go back to layer (pic below) and delete the threshold 1 and layer 1 (simply left click press delete or right click delete)

Setting of WHITE and BLACK

To set white and black would be easy once you know how to set grey as such there is no photos here

step 1: directly go to threshold. (no need to create extra layer)

step 2: For black, slide slider to left (whole image is now white) slide right till you see some black spot. left click on black spot and you get crosshair with number 2 beside it (number 1 is grey).

step 3: For white, slide slider to right (while image now black) slide till you see white spot. left click on white spot and you get crosshair with number 3 beside it.

step 4: delete everything you created again leaving just background copy.

ps: if there is no cross hair with number after left clicking, simply go to colour sample tool base on step 5 shown in setting GREY

Now if you have completed the above steps your photo should look like this now (3 red circle showing 1 which is GREY, 2 which is BLACK and 3 which is WHITE):

Setting the white balance:

To do so go to layers, new adjustment layer > levels

you should see this:

notice the 3 droppers (not sure what you call them so i just created my own name haha) in the red box. From top to bottom, the first one is black, 2nd is grey 3rd is white.

now left click on black dropper (top) and go to cross hair number 2 (which you have indicated earlier as the black of your picture). left click on it. Once done you will notice the entire image darkening.

next click on the grey dropper (2nd from top) and go to cross hair number 1 (which you have indicated earlier as the grey of your picture). left click on it. Once done image should change colour sometimes to yellow.

next click on the white (3rd from top) dropper and go to cross hair number 3. left click and the image should show a colour that you want as a final product.

vs

once the above is done you should see the difference as above.

The original photo had most of its colour covered by the blue light taken by the camera. the "edited" ( i dont really consider it editing since i am just returning the original colour i see to the photo) shows the original colour of the zoas.

This method should work on iphone taken photo too where my pics turn out totally blue.

[nicreef]

other sample:

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[spgohjc]

Have you tried using a gray card?

[nicreef]

ehh dont have grey card only tried finding something grey and place side of tank for fts but somehow dint work out for me haha.... 2 try n i gave up....

any tip on how to use it?

[surreal1228]

Bro. Open some white light will.get the color more accurate also.

Led blue is the hardest....

[JeffL]

You can try using custom white balance by using a grey card or a white balance cap. I guess it would be easier correcting it from the start then to edit them individually through digital editing.

[nicreef]

Bro. Open some white light will.get the color more accurate also.

Led blue is the hardest....

yeah it is but somehow the feel when the photo taken out seems different....maybe can try 10% white on next time....

You can try using custom white balance by using a grey card or a white balance cap. I guess it would be easier correcting it from the start then to edit them individually through digital editing.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375887904.247876.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375887914.024419.jpg

hmm dint know got white balance cap...interesting...

grey card i have been unsuccessful...but think it is because i am using it wrong.... thats y end up googling for info to change in photoshop instead lol

[sherman]

There is a white balance setting on some of the camera.Play with this setting till you get a correctly color picture.

Once set you can use that setting next time unless you change you spectrum setting

[dnsfpl]

thanks for the tips

can share the PSD file, we just replace the bg layer can liao lol

[nicreef]

There is a white balance setting on some of the camera.Play with this setting till you get a correctly color picture.

Once set you can use that setting next time unless you change you spectrum setting

mine only goes up to 10k tried several setting but colour still dont seem right unless i take it with flash but than a lot of over exposure.

thanks for the tips

can share the PSD file, we just replace the bg layer can liao lol

ehh how to replace bg layer lol share share lei...more short cut the better lol less time spend on computer more time spend in front of fish tank =p

[Anthony]

You can shoot raw to adjust the White Balance in PS.

Prime Lens will help you to control good white balance too.

[sherman]

Like what Anthony say you can take in RAW and adjust in PS

[spgohjc]

mine only goes up to 10k tried several setting but colour still dont seem right unless i take it with flash but than a lot of over exposure.

ehh how to replace bg layer lol share share lei...more short cut the better lol less time spend on computer more time spend in front of fish tank =p

Some cameras have Kelvin settings if you know what's the colour temperature. However, most of the time you not only have that lightings but also those of ambient. As such, if your camera has Preset WB settings that would be great. Use that to take a white object as a preset so that the camera will remove that colour cast each time a photo is taken. When you do this, there is no need to edit your photos to adjust WB. You can even shoot them in JPG instead of RAW to save space.

To illustrate with a PnS camera:

JPG Photo taken using Auto-WB (It will look blueish because of your blue lights)

Same JPG photo taken using WB Presets (No editing. It will immediately remove the colour cast. You don't see the blues that much and actually you see warm white lightings that I use)

Don't use flash unless your flashes are coming from the top of the tank (wireless remote)

If you think your photos are under-exposed, use exposure compensation. In these case, I used +2/3EV. You may also do exposure correction when you edit, your choice.

Hope that helps. Cheers!