It took some time getting convinced that a ColorChecker is a worthwhile tool in the entire calibration chain. Now I own one and I'm totally amazed about the results and the big impact. Now all my cameras and lenses match and the results are great.
I shoot a lot of musicians where they are sometimes saturated in red light. Always wondered why things that are very red often lose detail in the image. Now I know to check the RGB histogram in addition to the regular histogram.
No, not necessary....not unless ambient lighting changed so much that it needed a new profile. Just because YOU move, doesn't mean the sun or the shade moved :)
Learned something new today. Always thought the std histogram is the sum total of the individual RGB. I will start to use RGB histograms now. By the way, maybe the overexposed reddish patch is due to the camera angle on the reflected surface? Then adjusting the angle will help?
Mark, thanks for this great video. Presently, I use color corrective gels for mix lighting. Is the passport better? If so, do I need to create a profile for every shoot? thanks
Bert Jones your end product can still benefit from color checker even using gels (or filters). A new profile for each lighting scene can be used...just takes a few steps to create it for each one
Great video Mark. But I found it ironic that the video shot of you in front of the roses also had them blown out in the Red Channel. That shot was not broadcast safe!! :) Kidding aside, I think the main lesson here is to never trust the camera on the "auto" mode. It always screws up the image, whether in photo or in video! Shoot RAW pictures or Log Video while protecting the highlights in all three channels during capture and color correct in post to taste. Cheers!
Questions: 1- The white balance used on the camera for my test picture with the colorchecker at the beginning of the shoot, is it totally unimportant? 2- For the test picture, if I plan on using flashes in my small home studio, should I take the test picture with the flash or the results will be the same no matter what? I guess if ur pictures are gonna have both ambiant light and flash, that's a "different condition" so u want to put the colorchecker with both at the same time to be more accurate rather than just ambiant light?
1. Yes, white balance doesn’t matter. Unless you’re an absolute mad man and aren’t shooting in RAW then WB would matter. 2. The test photo should be shot in the same light as the photos you want to balance. So yes, flash on, otherwise the card on the test shot will be unbalanced from the other shots. The card should also be as close to the subject of your photos as well.
Very nice! So does the new color profile you created always stay in Lightroom to where you can switch to it in the future? Also, is the new color profile you created in Lightroom only useful for pictures of roses you took on that day in that rose garden? Or can you the new color profile on other images that are not of roses? Thanks
Joey Joiner Yes, the profile stays installed until you remove it, and it will be available to both Lr and Photoshop (ACR). For super-accurate colour (like if you're doing product shots, makeup, fashion, etc.), you'd want to make a fresh profile for every lighting scenario and camera/lens combination. If you just want consistency across all of your shots, then you can create "generic" profiles (preferably dual-illuminant - that's too big a subject for a RUclips comment, but it's not hard to do) for your camera or camera/lens combo (handy if you know that one or more of your lenses is giving a different colour rendition, or if you're trying to match different camera bodies to get a "same shoot" look) and let white balance handle the rest. If you include a shot of the Colorchecker Passport in a shooting sequence, it will make clean white balance in post easy, and it will give you the option to create a new profile if things look a little wonky (or when accurate colour *for that picture or sequence* is critical), but a generic profile for your camera/lens will be close enough most of the time for everyday shooting - and it gives you something consistent to base your own default presets on.
Great videos Mark, i find them very helpful and very explanatory, Thank You. I am curious though, how can You focus on the rose with the leica M and leica M lens at less than 2'3" (.07 meter) the minimum focus range of most Leica M lenses. ...seems you are closer, about 18" from it. ????
CALLING ALL PRO's FOR YOUR ADVICE PLEASE. I'm confused on this process. I am a newbie. I change shots/lighting and locations ALL the time. I can't be shooting a gray card every few minutes- would drive me nuts. Can't I just do it in post? Optionally, can I shoot the card once and use that as a reference in post? Someone else said when the adjusted their WB in post, it overrode their on camera settings anyway and looked bad. What is the best solution that balances results with convenience? MY SITUATION... I am going to Death Valley and Zion, NP soon- will easily be taking over 1,000 pictures- all different locations and lighting scenarios. It will not be one consistent lighting venue for hours at a time like a wedding. CAMERA: Nikon D5500. SOFTWARE: Luminar Neo and Affinity Photo. What should I do? I am very willing to put in some extra work on important shots- just not all the time if that makes sense. I am also not a pro- just want stunning vacation photos. I shoot in Raw only. THANKS!
I see there is a X Rite Passport Photo, and Video. what is the difference between both. since I work on both mediums, Do I need to buy both, or does the Video one, can work for both video and Photo. Thank You!
Great content, as always... thank you ! Just hoping everyone here understand they must use those informations in accordance to their own situations and gear. So, you were in Paris by August 2015 ? And visited the Tour Eiffel (as shown in your "Keyword set"). It is then highly probable we actually met, as I was organising special tours of the tower for everyone to visit it in a "different" way (backstage, machinery, underground bunker, hidden places, etc.). If you attended such a tour, it was with me. If not, well then... you missed on something unique ! And I don't run those anymore... I'm back to photography.
Marcos Enrique Ruiz Rivero II - the expo disc definitely helps to get the right white balance. Correct white balance is the foundation for correct color. But it's not a guarantee your colors will be accurate. You can test this by taking a pic after using the expo disc, the create a profile and use it in post. You should see a slight difference.
Useful video. It would be interesting to compare the Red-Clipped image after processing vs. the better exposed image. Also, you need to take your own advice and color-grade your videos! Those flowers are so over-saturated and the white balance is way too blue! :)
Nice topic I liked it a lot. Thanks. But is there a way to correct the first picture in the video using Lightroom? In other words can you correct the blown out red Chanel in Lightroom.
Yes...but usually only if you shoot in raw format. JPEG may not let you change the colors much....but, actually, just chAnging the color doesn't make it accurate... gamma, and black and white gray scale also is changed w the colorchecker. So, just changing color might just make it more or less red...or more brown, or pink because the base gray isn't accurate
Thank you. I'm confused about one thing. I read that even if you can't continually take a shot of the color checker it's better to use any profile created with a certain lens than none at all. So, I took a shot of the color checker at golden hour one night and then throughout my sunset photos I used my fold up grey card (which is easier for me to take a pic of, since I can't hold the color checker and shoot it) to keep getting the correct white balance. So my white balance looked great in my photos, but I then applied the color checker from that lens (taken at golden hour) and it automatically changed my white balance and it looked awful. I changed the white balance back to what I shot in camera but then the colors all looked really weird. What do I do in a case like this? If you could answer me I'd really appreciate it. I contacted X-Rite customer service and was told to read the manual, but I can't find it and am spending a lot of time trying to find the answer in videos. Thank you!
The Passport is used to align the extremities of color closer to match your sensor and lens for one lighting condition. For example shade, tungsten, daylight. If a profile created for those conditions it will be valid there but not for other extreme light changes. So a sunset will and can have the camera profile for daylight applied yet the grey balance ( white balance if you like) will not be necessary to be applied. When creating a light-camera profile, the white balance is applied after the profile is applied. Personally I wouldn't attempt to white balance a sunset, yet may use a previously generated DNG profile to use the best color alignment possible.
Yes. This way you will get accurate color on spot where you photographed. But having a color checker is just small part of color management. Having a calibrated monitor will increase color accuracy even more, IF you have the right setting on your screen.
simianinc I see no one answered... but no, it's not the same. You can be properly exposed, and still have inaccurate color. Ideally you'll want to take a picture of the color checker AFTER you've identified the correct exposure; even better if you've also identified the correct while balance (though that's not "required".
1. how come NO ONE and I mean NO ONE ANYWHERE explain what EACH panel of the checker is four? 2. There are TWO grays a 12% gray and 18%...WHY?? Please make a video explaining and using each page of the colorchecker passport 2...PLEASE?
Looking at the histogram on the back of any digital camera to evaluate exposure is a huge mistake. The histogram is always going to be a big fat lie, because the histogram on every digital camera obtains its exposure information from the jpeg preview of a raw file. Therefore, the exposure information you are looking at is that of the jpeg and NOT the RAW file data. Unfortunately, unless your white patch on the x-rite color checker reads between RGB 245-250, your RAW image is underexposed. The truth hurts...
They teach it wrong in elementary school. That has always annoyed me. The three primary colors for paint or ink (the subtractive primaries) are yellow, cyan and magenta.
This was good, but without even mentioning color gamut, this video is not _great_. This method works sometimes with color, but not always. If you're shooting a lookbook and run into this problem, exposure is not going to be your saviour.
![ROSÉ (로제) - number one girl [더 시즌즈-이영지의 레인보우] | KBS 241129 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/A9oByH9Ci24/mqdefault.jpg)
It took some time getting convinced that a ColorChecker is a worthwhile tool in the entire calibration chain. Now I own one and I'm totally amazed about the results and the big impact. Now all my cameras and lenses match and the results are great.
I shoot a lot of musicians where they are sometimes saturated in red light. Always wondered why things that are very red often lose detail in the image. Now I know to check the RGB histogram in addition to the regular histogram.
I was surprised. I never new about "RGB Histogram". Thanks a lot Mark
Very nice video indeed. I would like to ask if i should take another shot of the color checker if i change my position relative to the subject?
No, not necessary....not unless ambient lighting changed so much that it needed a new profile. Just because YOU move, doesn't mean the sun or the shade moved :)
Mark is good, but the title is misleading. The exposure problems were not solved using a color checker.
Learned something new today. Always thought the std histogram is the sum total of the individual RGB. I will start to use RGB histograms now. By the way, maybe the overexposed reddish patch is due to the camera angle on the reflected surface? Then adjusting the angle will help?
wow. I didn't even know photo color checkers were a thing. LEARN SOMN NEW EVERY DAY!:D
Mark, thanks for this great video. Presently, I use color corrective gels for mix lighting. Is the passport better? If so, do I need to create a profile for every shoot? thanks
Bert Jones your end product can still benefit from color checker even using gels (or filters).
A new profile for each lighting scene can be used...just takes a few steps to create it for each one
excellent video mark. you provided some great information. thank you.
Wow! I’ve had my Color Checker Passport for years and you have shown me things I completely missed. Thanks!
Very informative video, great presentation. Thank you
I guess they changed the place you select the profile since this vid was made? It is no longer down by the Calibrate section
Great video Mark. But I found it ironic that the video shot of you in front of the roses also had them blown out in the Red Channel. That shot was not broadcast safe!! :)
Kidding aside, I think the main lesson here is to never trust the camera on the "auto" mode. It always screws up the image, whether in photo or in video! Shoot RAW pictures or Log Video while protecting the highlights in all three channels during capture and color correct in post to taste. Cheers!
Do you need to create a profile for each scene that has different exposure?
Questions:
1- The white balance used on the camera for my test picture with the colorchecker at the beginning of the shoot, is it totally unimportant?
2- For the test picture, if I plan on using flashes in my small home studio, should I take the test picture with the flash or the results will be the same no matter what? I guess if ur pictures are gonna have both ambiant light and flash, that's a "different condition" so u want to put the colorchecker with both at the same time to be more accurate rather than just ambiant light?
1. Yes, white balance doesn’t matter. Unless you’re an absolute mad man and aren’t shooting in RAW then WB would matter.
2. The test photo should be shot in the same light as the photos you want to balance. So yes, flash on, otherwise the card on the test shot will be unbalanced from the other shots. The card should also be as close to the subject of your photos as well.
Very nice! So does the new color profile you created always stay in Lightroom to where you can switch to it in the future?
Also, is the new color profile you created in Lightroom only useful for pictures of roses you took on that day in that rose garden?
Or can you the new color profile on other images that are not of roses?
Thanks
Joey Joiner Yes, the profile stays installed until you remove it, and it will be available to both Lr and Photoshop (ACR). For super-accurate colour (like if you're doing product shots, makeup, fashion, etc.), you'd want to make a fresh profile for every lighting scenario and camera/lens combination. If you just want consistency across all of your shots, then you can create "generic" profiles (preferably dual-illuminant - that's too big a subject for a RUclips comment, but it's not hard to do) for your camera or camera/lens combo (handy if you know that one or more of your lenses is giving a different colour rendition, or if you're trying to match different camera bodies to get a "same shoot" look) and let white balance handle the rest. If you include a shot of the Colorchecker Passport in a shooting sequence, it will make clean white balance in post easy, and it will give you the option to create a new profile if things look a little wonky (or when accurate colour *for that picture or sequence* is critical), but a generic profile for your camera/lens will be close enough most of the time for everyday shooting - and it gives you something consistent to base your own default presets on.
Great videos Mark, i find them very helpful and very explanatory, Thank You.
I am curious though, how can You focus on the rose with the leica M and leica M lens at less than 2'3" (.07 meter) the minimum focus range of most Leica M lenses. ...seems you are closer, about 18" from it. ????
CALLING ALL PRO's FOR YOUR ADVICE PLEASE. I'm confused on this process. I am a newbie. I change shots/lighting and locations ALL the time. I can't be shooting a gray card every few minutes- would drive me nuts. Can't I just do it in post?
Optionally, can I shoot the card once and use that as a reference in post? Someone else said when the adjusted their WB in post, it overrode their on camera settings anyway and looked bad. What is the best solution that balances results with convenience?
MY SITUATION...
I am going to Death Valley and Zion, NP soon- will easily be taking over 1,000 pictures- all different locations and lighting scenarios. It will not be one consistent lighting venue for hours at a time like a wedding.
CAMERA: Nikon D5500.
SOFTWARE: Luminar Neo and Affinity Photo.
What should I do? I am very willing to put in some extra work on important shots- just not all the time if that makes sense. I am also not a pro- just want stunning vacation photos. I shoot in Raw only.
THANKS!
I see there is a X Rite Passport Photo, and Video. what is the difference between both. since I work on both mediums, Do I need to buy both, or does the Video one, can work for both video and Photo.
Thank You!
Great content, as always... thank you ! Just hoping everyone here understand they must use those informations in accordance to their own situations and gear.
So, you were in Paris by August 2015 ? And visited the Tour Eiffel (as shown in your "Keyword set"). It is then highly probable we actually met, as I was organising special tours of the tower for everyone to visit it in a "different" way (backstage, machinery, underground bunker, hidden places, etc.). If you attended such a tour, it was with me. If not, well then... you missed on something unique !
And I don't run those anymore... I'm back to photography.
Mark, if for portrait i used the expodisc, do i need also the colorchecker, and the other way around? i have them both. thanks for your insight.
Marcos Enrique Ruiz Rivero II - the expo disc definitely helps to get the right white balance. Correct white balance is the foundation for correct color. But it's not a guarantee your colors will be accurate.
You can test this by taking a pic after using the expo disc, the create a profile and use it in post. You should see a slight difference.
However, after adjusting the color balance using Colorcheker (or any other balance card) we all are getting oversaturated skin tones :(
Useful video. It would be interesting to compare the Red-Clipped image after processing vs. the better exposed image. Also, you need to take your own advice and color-grade your videos! Those flowers are so over-saturated and the white balance is way too blue! :)
Nice topic I liked it a lot. Thanks.
But is there a way to correct the first picture in the video using Lightroom? In other words can you correct the blown out red Chanel in Lightroom.
Yes...but usually only if you shoot in raw format. JPEG may not let you change the colors much....but, actually, just chAnging the color doesn't make it accurate... gamma, and black and white gray scale also is changed w the colorchecker. So, just changing color might just make it more or less red...or more brown, or pink because the base gray isn't accurate
Good Job Mark
Thank you. I'm confused about one thing. I read that even if you can't continually take a shot of the color checker it's better to use any profile created with a certain lens than none at all. So, I took a shot of the color checker at golden hour one night and then throughout my sunset photos I used my fold up grey card (which is easier for me to take a pic of, since I can't hold the color checker and shoot it) to keep getting the correct white balance. So my white balance looked great in my photos, but I then applied the color checker from that lens (taken at golden hour) and it automatically changed my white balance and it looked awful. I changed the white balance back to what I shot in camera but then the colors all looked really weird. What do I do in a case like this? If you could answer me I'd really appreciate it. I contacted X-Rite customer service and was told to read the manual, but I can't find it and am spending a lot of time trying to find the answer in videos. Thank you!
The Passport is used to align the extremities of color closer to match your sensor and lens for one lighting condition. For example shade, tungsten, daylight. If a profile created for those conditions it will be valid there but not for other extreme light changes. So a sunset will and can have the camera profile for daylight applied yet the grey balance ( white balance if you like) will not be necessary to be applied. When creating a light-camera profile, the white balance is applied after the profile is applied. Personally I wouldn't attempt to white balance a sunset, yet may use a previously generated DNG profile to use the best color alignment possible.
Why there is a color fringing on the edges of the red rose? Is it the lens?
Victor Its got to be. Its horrible.. Thought Leica was better then that..
If my monitor is not calibrated is there a sense of using color checker?
Yes. This way you will get accurate color on spot where you photographed. But having a color checker is just small part of color management. Having a calibrated monitor will increase color accuracy even more, IF you have the right setting on your screen.
What's up with the color of your hand is this has been corrected?
Do you have to use lightroom to do this? I am not a lightroom user. I use Photoshop and a different program to process RAW
You should be able to use Photoshop with the colorchecker as well, the plug in supports both apps.
Just to be clear - is correcting the colour also correcting the exposure?
simianinc I see no one answered... but no, it's not the same. You can be properly exposed, and still have inaccurate color.
Ideally you'll want to take a picture of the color checker AFTER you've identified the correct exposure; even better if you've also identified the correct while balance (though that's not "required".
1. how come NO ONE and I mean NO ONE ANYWHERE explain what EACH panel of the checker is four? 2. There are TWO grays a 12% gray and 18%...WHY?? Please make a video explaining and using each page of the colorchecker passport 2...PLEASE?
Sekonic is a good friend and a fast friend
But not for color :)
Nice Video.
Correction: Or can you "use"...
The Red Green Show?
+A Luay
"And remember when that lens hood falls off... duct tape!"
YES!
Are you still Floating Around?
Looking at the histogram on the back of any digital camera to evaluate exposure is a huge mistake. The histogram is always going to be a big fat lie, because the histogram on every digital camera obtains its exposure information from the jpeg preview of a raw file. Therefore, the exposure information you are looking at is that of the jpeg and NOT the RAW file data. Unfortunately, unless your white patch on the x-rite color checker reads between RGB 245-250, your RAW image is underexposed. The truth hurts...
oh man, those CA
They teach it wrong in elementary school. That has always annoyed me. The three primary colors for paint or ink (the subtractive primaries) are yellow, cyan and magenta.
Only one problem: a colorchecker pass costs a fortune! Just hold an A4 sheet up and you're g2g w/ the white balance for like 0 money.
terenas1986 until you compare different sheets of "white" paper
Guy sounds like a brit!
This was good, but without even mentioning color gamut, this video is not _great_.
This method works sometimes with color, but not always.
If you're shooting a lookbook and run into this problem, exposure is not going to be your saviour.
Good to see you with clothes on.
we still see a blob in youtube anyway :)