QuikDisc^®: White Balancing with the ShoeMount Flash

What is Color Temperature?
Color temperature is more or less the color of light, which is dependent on the source of the light. This is also known as the color of illumination. Our eyes can adapt to the changes of the dominant light source so that we always see the brightest tones in a scene as white.

The color of illumination is usually described as "color temperature". This is an explanation based on the actual physical temperature when a heated object gives off light. At low temperatures, the light is very red. At about 5,000 - 7,000 degrees Kelvin, the light is seen as white. As the color temperature goes higher, the light gets more blue. [figure 1]

Is It Magic?
It's important to realize there are several different ways to set the white balance in your camera. It is possible to change your custom white balance settings within your camera for every situation you might encounter. However, this method only works well when your lighting situations are consistent, for example your studio lighting.

We find the easiest and most efficient way to balance is to shoot utilizing the Raw file system in Photoshop. If you shoot in the Raw file format, you can make individual, non-destructive, color adjustments to your photos. You can even batch them all if your color adjustments are global, which can save considerable time.

To best use the QuikDisc^®, simply place it within the frame of your shot when you’re ready to shoot. Turn the Disc so that the grey side is facing the camera. Then take one properly exposed shot. Now you can remove the QuikDisc^® and continue shooting.

Once you’ve uploaded all the images to your computer, open Camera Raw in Adobe Bridge and 'Select All' of the images within that particular lighting scenario. Using the white balance color picker, click on the QuikDisc^®, and POOF! All of your selected images will be properly color-balanced. [figure 2]

Before and After
Here are our examples of before and after this simple process. [figures 3 & 4]

This is the fastest and most accurate way to white balance your images. Now let’s see it in action!

ShoeMount Setup
Using shoemount flashes can be of great use when you need a quick and easy setup.

For this lesson, we used a extra small LiteDome^® Flash Kit with a single flash unit. This was used as a rim light, as well as to light the background. The extra small LiteDome^® was placed behind our subject to the right and faced in-between the subject and the background. Facing it this way allowed us to light the background and gave us a nice rim, or edge, light on the subject. [figures 5 & 6]

Next, we wanted to add some fill in order to render some detail on our subject's face. So, we added a 39x39 LitePanel with a silver reflector to the setup. Although this helped to bring a little more detail into the subject's shirt and right hand, it didn't produce the kind of fill light we were looking for. [figures 7 & 8]

To add more light into the shadow areas, we decided to add another shoemount flash to the setup. But rather than using it straight on, we decided to widen the amount of light spread and mount it to a LitePanel setup using a HeavyDuty Swivel and 1/4-20 thread mount stud. Having this secondary flash/bounce setup provided us with a much stronger fill and gave us the lighting ratio we were looking for. [figures 9 & 10]

At this point, we were happy with the lighting and the look we were going for. With all the lights in place and everything ready to go, we took a single shot with the QuikDisc^® for the white balancing we would do later on in Camera Raw. This is how simple color balancing can be with the right tools. [figure 11]

Check out the progression from where we started. [figure 12]

Final Shot

Continuing On
As we look back, we can see why white balancing is an important part of any photographer’s toolkit. It allows us to see the correct exposure and color of our subject. That said, keep in mind that “incorrectly” color-balanced images also have their place on occasion.

Remember, forward progression is important to your growth as an artist. So make sure to keep experimenting and trying new ideas!

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Written and photographed by David Cross, contributing instructor for Photoflex.com^®.