- Grey card techniques
- Computational Photography Talk for the Royal Photographic Society
- Real Letters from Real Readers - Back Button Focusing (BBF)
- In the Pipeline
- Next time in Cameracraft Magazine
- Parting Shots
Using a Grey Card to Nail Exposure and White Balance
A long time ago, photographers used film and were literally
“shooting blind” – they weren’t sure if their built-in reflective light meters
were metering for non-average subjects properly (like brides with white
dresses, or grooms with black tuxes). Nor were they ever sure if the
color balance was “correct” when it came time to make prints from negatives in
the darkroom. In both of these cases,
serious photographers would use a grey card to nail the exposure and the white
balance – and it would be perfect every time.
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| Meter off the grey card to nail the exposure in photos that have non-average subjects. You can also use the grey card as a neutral surface from which to set your white balance accurately. |
Today we have digital cameras with Live View, which makes things easier but in extreme circumstances (like really bad or non-white light, or really non-average subjects like brides in white dresses or grooms in black tuxes) the grey card will still nail it. Here’s how to use this ancient technique:
