Let’s talk about white balance. In case you need a refresher white balance is the color tone of your images. This is primarily dependent on the type of light you are shooting in and can have a big impact on your images. The most significant thing that white balance affects is skin tone on people. If the white balance is off, people can look too grey or too orange, really not reflecting the person you are shooting. This is where the Expo Disc comes in and I am going to teach you how to use an expo disc so you can have perfect white balance every time. If you need a refresher on white balance you can go read this article here: How To Set White Balance
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Options for White Balance
There are two schools of thought when it comes to setting or correcting white balance. Some people keep their cameras on Auto White Balance and choose to make corrections if needed in post processing software such as Lightroom. This is great for most photographers but can be time consuming if you are shooting a ton of photos, say at a client session.
The second option is to actually set your white balance in camera according to your lighting situation before you shoot. This is the best option if you will be in the same lighting situation for an entire shoot. You can use the pre-programmed white balance options available in the camera or you set a custom white balance which is exactly what the Expo Disc helps you do.
Using an Expo Disc is super easy and I am going to take you step-by-step through the process. (Video coming soon!)
How to Use and Expo Disc
- Make sure your camera is on Auto White Balance
- Make sure to set your Aperture, Shutter speed, and ISO so that you are metered on zero
- Stand where your subject will be and point your camera in the direction of where you will be standing (its as if the subject will be taking your picture)
- Hold the Expo Disc up to your lens covering your entire lens not letting any light in (get the biggest Expo Disc offered – 82mm)
- Take one photo – this is your white balance reference photo
- Go into your camera’s menu (check your manual for specific instructions) and choose custom white balance and use the reference photo you took above to set the white balance
That’s it, super easy and as long as the lighting conditions remain pretty much the same throughout your shoot, you will not need to make any changes and your white balance will be perfect. Let me know if you plan on using an Expo Disc or if you have any other questions!
