Photography Tutorial: "What is White Balance?" by Leica Photographer Thorsten von Overgaard

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Leica Photographer Thorsten von Overgaard on "What is White Balance?" - one of the most misunderstood subjects in photography. Once you understand the simplicity of it, you'll get beautiful colors.
Video Credits:
Produced by: Thorsten Overgaard (www.overgaard.dk)
Video by: Dare Stevens (www.darecinema.com)
#whitebalance #leica #colorphotogarphy

[@johnfarley4201]

Such a top chap Thorsten. Thank you for your wise words.

[@colingroskopf1063]

A very sound technical explanation of white balance. I particularly liked the distinction that was clarified between the 18% grey card (used for exposure settings) and the white balance card. Outstanding job Thorsten! Every time I see your videos I continue to dream about buying a Leica.

[@Thrice_Greatest]

Great explanation Thorsten, every tells me I'm crazy when I try explaining it. I go everywhere with my card.

[@HatefYaminiOnline]

Fantastic overview. Thanks Thorsten!

[@uffegrebst5393]

This lessons are so fantastic very helpful Thank you Thorsten von Overgaard

[@jayzn1931]

If you have a "correct" white balance you might not get the look you want though. For example, if you take pictures in golden hour and use a white balance card like used here, you lose all of the golden light, as it neutrals that out. This is an advantage to doing it in post-production, where you can simply see if the AWB is consistent or you can dial in how much of each color channel you want to use. Correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks for demonstrating.

[@klarkolofsson]

Very true. Correct white balance creates neutral looking images.

[@LuisArcadioDeJesus]

Enjoying your straightforward explanations.

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you!

[@zoltankaparthy9095]

You are an excellent example of the saying that when someone really understands their subject they can explain it simply. Your hallmark is simply explained and knowledgeable solid and useful information. Thanks so much. Tusind tak. And, oh, yes, I just ordered the WhiBal card, too. ;o)

[@mints4us]

Again another very simple easy to understand video .....

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you Jo!

[@JeffJacquesmd]

wonderful to see and hear you here my friend.

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Welcome!

[@stefanofassone6686]

Good stuff Thorsten, appreciate all your very talented work. Keep up the great job ! Grazie

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you!

[@ronnypersson4238]

Hi Thorsten, all the three first videos are very good. Have a nice weekend.

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Glad to hear that!

[@funtrain23]

This is really good. Thank you.

[@factnews92]

Easy to understand...Big thx Master

[@carolineandtigger]

Thank you so much. We have been watching your videos. We are learning a lot. We really appreciate it.

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you!

[@robertoposa1120]

thanks for the great way to explain things - best photo videos on youtube!!!

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you Roberto!

[@richardsmith9067]

Very informative Thorsten. Enjoying these videos.

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you Rochard!

[@rafael55]

Thank you for the lesson.

[@czi1003]

Great video. Could you also show us how to get the correct grey tone for black and white photography?

[@Rambleswithmycameraonyoutube]

Very well explained Thorsten I am currently in the process of making a video for my channel about this topic shooting Street photography with a regular gray card but after seeing your pocket sized WhiBal card I have just ordered one and I will hold back now until I receive it, I never knew there was one, thanks man - Sending Love from Ireland Sean

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thanks. Yes, the WhiBal is "hard" to find. BH Photo and of course WhiBal themself usually have them in stock. Most photo stores doesn't have any real white balance cards, only exposure greycards (often sold as white balance cards)

[@Rambleswithmycameraonyoutube]

Magic Of Light looking forward to getting it and thanks again for the heads up about it, good to see your channel up and running man sending Love from Ireland- Sean

[@cnick6]

Amazon has most of their versions in stock.

[@tamilhoward9708]

Love this channel!

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you. Great to hear! Will make more!

[@ekchuahstudios9066]

Thank you, good info on WB.

[@zoltankaparthy9095]

Got the WhiBal card. It works much better than the in-camera auto white balance. The colors come right. Thanks.

[@ekchuahstudios9066]

Great information.

[@macbookdieter]

Great video, I still have a 80a and 85b filters.

[@stillben]

Wonderfully clear

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Good to hear. I want to make it simple and useful.

[@kungfuchemist10]

I have followed these Thorten's instructions dozens of times with a WhiBal card and my M240. I have never gotten the white balance correct. I've relegated myself to using the automatic white balance setting on the camera and adjusting as needed in Lightroom. Though I wish I knew what the problem was with all my failed attempts at manually setting white balance.

[@dippin1523]

well done

[@dhirajshetty483]

thanks Thorsten ... all the 3 videos were good ! we have a common friend HARI ..... another Leica photographer like us....

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you. Yes, I remember HARI!

[@MxvanxB]

Well explained. You should consider to make a video course in this style combined with some live shooting footage!

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

The Leica Q Masterclass (and the Leica M 240 Masterclass that is in production) includes live shooting of outdoor, street and model in this style, explaining exposure, white balance, focusing, etc.

[@marianpalko2531]

Very nice vid. Thanks!

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Thank you!

[@ogosnawid]

I came here to learn 🥰

[@shy-guy5544]

Very interesting and informative video. With Fuji cameras it is possible to make a white balance shift, adding positive or negative red and blue values to the normal white balance. Is this possible with Leica cameras? Thanks

[@ebrahemmh]

Thanks for the explanation. Now from what I understand. The most accurate way is to use the grey card then to use the white card? So what is the difference between grey and white? What results I will expect from the white card. Thanks

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

The WhiBal card is neutral color, and a white card could be the same if it existed. White paper can work, but white paper has different colors than neutral white; paper can contain chemicals that makes them blue, and many types of white has warm tones in them. Still better than nothing as any manual white balance gives you a measuring that then stays with that scene so the colors are the same on all photos you take of that scene (easier to edit). t's not the color of the card. It actually a problem that white balancing cards has been called "grey cards" because that is also the name of the grey cards to measure light for exposure. That the WhiBal card is (11% grey) just happened to make people confuse it with (18% reflective grey) greycards for light metering. So you can walk into a camera store asking for a white balancing card, and they will show you a Novavision grey card (for light metering) or a Kodak greycard for light metering and state this is the one.

[@ebrahemmh]

Magic Of Light Thanks for your time. Finally found one talk about exposure card and balance card :) Now some times I don't have any cards. So in lightroom I make the white balance according to teeth or eyes conjunctiva assuming his/her teeth white enough. Thanks.

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Yes, some people have eyes or teeth that will work, and often not. But that is the problem with "auto white balance"; that if there is nothing in the photo that is "neutral white or grey" there is nothing to adjust from. Which is the same problem the camera had when set on auto WB: it has to have something neutral in the picture to measure to get it right. I've used white paper and white walls and such for many years, and that works. For those cases where the colors are important, that's when I do manual white balance.

[@sexysilversurfer]

What K do we use for modern LED lights in the home?

[@cnick6]

Thorsten, thanks for the tip. I just picked up the WhiBal wallet card. Quick question: how do the film modes affect the WhiBal values? Do they even matter? I tend to shoot in Vivid color on my M240P. So as long as I take the WhiBal baseline in that mode, then I should be good to go..?

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

White balance works across it all, but of course the vivid and other filters add whatever effects they do.

[@ambertudor]

I think out of everyone that i have watched you are the most informative on the leica cameras. My question is do you think that the M9 would be a good camera to take landscapes with? And if so what lenses would you recommend for that kind of photography??

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Yes, it's great for landscapes in my opinion. One great advantage is the size and weight. Many seem to agree landscapes has to be done with wide angle, and preferable with focus from front to back. I will shoot landscapes as my eyes see them, with focus on a distance and some out of focus in front and back. Or with a silhouette or something (giving proportions) in front and in focus, and the background slightly blurred. Hence I will use a 50mm or 75mm or so. You can't say any way of doing it is right or wrong. Ansel Adams once said that the problem with landscapes is that the eye composes parts of the landscape by focusing on one part at the time and then build a concept of its totality in the mind. A large format camera usually produce an image that is sharp overall, which is different than what it looks for the eye. Hence, that is what makes it difficult to prevision a landscape. He got that right; and in his case he wanted everything to be absolutely in focus. So there you have it: It's still up for discussion which lens to use, and how!

[@ambertudor]

If i was to take photos of landscapes with an M9 and wanted to enlarge them, what would be the largest i could go and still stay sharp, could i go to 20x24???

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

I've done 180 cm tall prints with the M9 files. Thing is that you look at a distance, so the sharpness is not that critical as you would think. If it looks sharp "on the file", a large print will as well. But as the file size is limited and a printer will "pilexate" if the file resolution itself (file size) is to small, you scale the photo in Photoshop before sending to printer. For example a 180 cm tall print would have to be a file 300 dpi (or 150 dpi some printers will say) file and 180 cm tall. Then it looks great!

[@amalshaleh1898]

I am a bit confused with these Kelvin numbers. The lower the number in LR the more blue, and higher in number the more yellow. Am I wrong? BTW I really enjoy your speeches.

[@MagicOfLight_ThorstenOvergaard]

Yes, it's a little opposite: High Kelvin number is cold light (like early morning, shadows and "the blue hour" after sunset) and low Kelvin numbers are warm colors. To compensate for cold light, you apply warm "filter" to it, and to adjust warm light, you apply cold light to it. It get's sort of confusing to wrap ones head around the numbers because of this opposite thinking. Staying with just the Kelvin value USED for certain light makes it workable and simple. Colors are a little confusing. Red, green and blue mix differently also depending if it's pain or colored light you mix. Get's my head spinning each time I try to think with it. It often helps to work with the actual filters and colors so it's not just names and numbers.

[@HugoJJ]

Great insight thanks ! You may want to correct your titre screen spelling ‘Understading Whitebalance’

[@uncoy]

This one was a bit long and rambling, where there could be more detail added the various sections within the same time space. Your explanations about grey cards were unconvincing as well - neutral greys exist as well. There's more subtlety to white balance as well - there's tint for example.