Hi,

How can I use a colored card to adjust white-balance. I tried the PRE option in the W/B menu but I failed.

What I'm trying to do is to use a fuchsia colored card to balance whites so the camera will give me the type of colors seen in the movie Amelie.

Thank you

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Do not know anything about the card you mention other then it may be a funky purple reddish color?
Do you have a 18% grey card? If not look into the Xrite Color Checker Passport.
Tons of YouTube videos.

Dan Berg
www.bergscanvasgallery.com
www.bergscustomfurniture.com

The movie Amelie has a very warm, very yellow color bias. To have your white balance set that way, you'd want to neutralize a color that's opposite that on the color wheel - something in the cyan or blue range. Fuchsia is normally called magenta in photographic circles, and its opposite is green, which isn't what you'd want. My guess is that the PRE approach failed because your color card was too strong and exceeded the camera's operating range.

An easy way to get this effect is to shoot in raw and include in one shot something that's light blue and click on it with the white balance eye dropper. The colors should shift in the direction you want. Copy that white balance setting to other photos you want with this look that were taken in similar light and you're done. Alternatively, just open up one image, adjust the white balance in the yellow direction and then copy this setting to all the other photos taken in the same light.

Rick Walker

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GeoVista Photography

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Thank you both for your help, it was very useful.

All the best,


Carlos

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