Comments on: Do You Need to Carry a Gray Card?

By: DiscerningPhotog

DiscerningPhotog — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:38:29 +0000

You have to experiment to see where the best mix occurs. Each situation will be a bit different but you’ll be able to see your results immediately on the LCD screen.

By: Walsworth Farrington

Walsworth Farrington — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:13:34 +0000

Hello Mr. Boyd,

In the example of a mixed-light situation that combines lamp light (in this case, a compact fluorescent source) with evening daylight. Where you place the gray card will have a lot of impact upon your final results. Where should you place the grey card?

Thanks,

Walsworth

By: Bob Diamond

Bob Diamond — Fri, 20 May 2011 06:42:22 +0000

Would this work on a regular digital Point & Shoot too using Photoshop as the editor?

By: Roz Harris

Roz Harris — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:23:13 +0000

I’m glad I came across this post. I used to be the “I can fix anything in Photoshop” kind of guy, but I started to realize that I was spending too much time trying to fix pictures, whereas I should have spent more time getting the picture right in the first place.

Thanks for all this info!

By: carson

carson — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:22:21 +0000

Thanks for additional tips. I do use gray cards specially in poor lighting condition. Those are great help.

Carson W.

By: DiscerningPhotog

DiscerningPhotog — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:05:26 +0000

You could open this image up in Photoshop, go into Levels, and use the middle (midtone) eyedropper, lower right, to set gray. The other colors will fall in line around the neutral, which is what you want. The card you’re using looks like it’s really designed for calibration in CMYK printing, which is a different animal from the discussion in this post, although of course related.
Hope this helps!

By: CAM

CAM — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:16:50 +0000

According to my understanding:

when working in YMCK colors (for print) you can use the exposure card to reference the colors in photoshop to the 4 individual colors.

when working in RGB mode (for digital web images), all you need is 18% grey (it automatically includes the Red, Green and the Blue. easy way to adjust your colors.

18% Grey = RED, GREEN, BLUE

is this correct?

here is a exposure card
http://www.digitalimageflow.com/DGK_2010_files/2010_product_image_DNG2.png

i took a picture while holding the card, now I am only trying to find out how I can adjust the colors in photoshop using the eye drop tool to reference to those colors.

By: DiscerningPhotog

DiscerningPhotog — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 23:11:21 +0000

I sat through a session with a Canon tech rep last week on the Mark IV. For white balancing, he recommended using a grey card for situations like the stadium I describe above…

By: Rae Merrill

Rae Merrill — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 19:08:33 +0000

Interesting discussion. In the days of film the grey card was used primarily for measuring exposure but with digital you don’t really need to do that. Glad to see it being used for colour adjustment although again in situations under your control you can make adjustments then check on the screen and adjust from there. In situations outside your control such as stadiums and theatres then measuring the colour balance is pretty much redundant because you cant control the lighting, you simply have to work with what’s there.

Hope this makes sense.

By: Bayou Bill

Bayou Bill — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:24:22 +0000

http://www.ppmag.com/web-exclusives/2008/11/product-comparison-white-balan-1.html

Anyone care to comment on the devices reviewed at this link? The one in the bottom left of the photo appeals to me, though the Melitta brand is a little pricey.