Exercise 4.04 – Judging colour temperature 2

The following three sets of images were taken in the same way as the ones in Part 1 of this exercise – midday full sun; midday shade; and low evening light. The difference in this part of the exercise is the white balance adjustment, using ‘daylight setting for the full sun images, shade for the ones in the shade, and auto for the evening images.

The first set is of the roof of our bird table

Midday – Full sun – Daylight WB

My feeling is that it was much brighter than this – maybe there’s some overcompensation in the White Balance.

Midday – Shade – Shade WB

Again, I feel this has been overcompensated. My recollection is that the colours weren’t so muted.

Evening Sun – Auto WB

These colours and brightness look about right to me.

The next set are of a garden ornament, moved around the garden to suit the required lighting conditions.

Midday – Full Sun – Daylight WB

My recollection is of a brighter day with more contrast in the shadows. Maybe there’s overcompensation here too.

Midday – Shade – Shade WB

I feel that this too has been overcompensated. The dog seems to be too ‘yellow’ to me.

Evening Sun – Auto WB

These colours and brightness look right to me.

The next set is of a clump of saxifrage in a garden which is in need of some weeding!

Midday – Full Sun – Daylight WB

I would say that the greens were too ‘blue’ in this image – not as I would perceive them.

Midday – Shade – Shade WB

I used my body to create the shade for this image (it creates quite a large shadow – even at midday), but I feel that the greens in this image are too ‘yellow’

Evening Sun – Auto WB

This image looks about right to me – the colours reflect warm light of the evening which is what I would have expected.

It seems to me that the pre-set camera settings are dubious to say the least. Obviously they’re set to what are perceived to be the optimum for each daylight / shade situation etc. Obviously the light conditions change on a daily basis and even more with the seasons, so it’s got to be taken with a pinch of salt. I suppose setting the balance manually, using the standard grey card would be the best way, but it seems that the camera’s automatic system works pretty well to me.