So in my previous post, I showed how one could use the WhiBal card and a photograph editing program to correct the color of a photograph. Now I want to show what can be done by a camera. I put together another collage based off one picture taken outside and a couple of pictures taken inside using a light tent and (3) 120 watt equivalent soft white (2700K) compact florescent light bulbs (1 on each side and 1 on the top). For comparison, I used a couple of shots that I color corrected in Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) 8 and for the other shots, I used the various white balance settings on my camera.

Here is a picture of the set-up:


Here is a description of the photographs in the collage:
First Row: Outside PSE Corrected with all 3 droppers, Inside Auto White Balance PSE Corrected Grey Dropper, Inside Auto White Balance PSE Corrected with all 3 Droppers
Second Row: Custom White Balance, Natural Sunlight, Auto White Balance
Third Row: Tungsten White Balance, Daylight White Balance, Florescent White Balance


To create the custom white balance, I first took a picture of the WhiBal card under the same light conditions as the shots that I wanted, seen here:


Then, on my camera, I went to white balance, custom, and selected the picture I had just taken of the WhiBal card. As long as I stay on this custom white balance, it will adjust the pictures for me without using a photograph editing program. For the others, I selected the preset white balances meant for different situations (Daylight is meant for a sunny day, Tungsten is meant for incandescent lights, and Florescent is meant for the old, long, tubular florescent lights).

Just wanted to post this so that others might know that it is possible to alter the colors of a picture without using a photograph editing program. If the person taking the picture has a knowledge of light temperatures and white balances, they can change what we see. So I guess we are left hoping that people are being honest about the pictures they post, whether or not they use a photograph editing program. In the next couple of days I will try to post some pictures of some of my collection under the same soft white lights with and without various color corrections.