A green/yellow cast under luminescent lamps?

[evgeny]

Q: Should an image have a green/yellow cast under luminescent lamps in an office?

Flash is not fired.
I shoot an image with gray card to set white balance later in post production.
The image is captured with Sinarback 54M.

[Dustbak]

Normally if you would start out with the WB set to daylight (or abouts) in most cases your image would turn out initially to have a yellow cast with that type of lights.

Artificial lights in offices are mostly pretty low in K light temp (typically around 3000K to 4000K). When starting at daylight you start at about 5000K and have to drop which means going towards blue (from yellow). If you want to neutralize of course.


In the rare occasion daylight lamps or high temp TL is used in the workplace you will start more blue or magenta. This is kind of rare unless you work in something like an aquarium or terrarium

The answer to your question is; Yes, in most cases it will.

Grey card is always good. Problems are really likely when you have artificial lighting together with windows. Mixed lighting I always find a challenge. I normally take shots with grey cards (or other neutral stuff) at various places and in post I blend these in.

I always wondered whether a custom gain or LCC shot would be helpful here but never really got around finding out (too damn lazy I guess and sometimes I simply have not time to fool around). Maybe somebody else can fill us in here?

[evgeny]

Thank!
I think to try flash to see the difference in the foreground.

[thsinar]

Yes Evgeny, a colour cast is pretty normal, when shooting under different light characteristics and not setting the WB.

You can either do WB immediately, while shooting by clicking on a 18% grey card or Macbeth chart: the following images will then be balanced, or then take an image with this grey card and select all the images in the contact sheet to WB them in CS later ("Neutral" eyedropper). The result will be exactly the same.

Best regards,
Thierry

Q: Should an image have a green/yellow cast under luminescent lamps in an office?

Flash is not fired.
I shoot an image with gray card to set white balance later in post production.
The image is captured with Sinarback 54M.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=214760\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

[evgeny]

Thank you for this detailed reply!

I already use Hensel in my studio. Instead of buying new lights I need to know how to optimize image under such difficult luminescent light (in an office) without flash?

Thank

[evgeny]

Thank.

I understand that you suggest to switch luminescent light off and  use other light sources, and if I mix luminescent light and strobes (Hensel Porty or Nikon SB800) this will create the same problems as mix of luminescent light and daylight.
This is helpful !

[evgeny]

I see, thank.

[EricWHiss]

EPd,
Out of pure curiosity can you tell me what tools you used to measure the light quality with?  I've wanted to measure different white LED's such as the luxeon star for a project I was working on to create very small and bright lighting.  

You can see their datasheets, however after playing with some I got the feeling they were missing big parts of the spectrum.

Also if you know anything about which of the LEDs or new tiny plasma lights offer high quality light that would be helpful.
Thanks in advance,
Eric

[Jann Lipka]

regarding bad spectrum , from my experience
the worst light source / impossible to WB / extremely narrow spectrum  is
A low pressure sodium/sodium oxide
( common in some street lamps )
those are impossible without some serious PS cheating ....







EpD, Thanks for suggestion with IKEA fixtures,
Those look very hand and inexpensive , I'm not sure though how powerfull the light is ..
I think despite I live in IKEAs home country I would order from US , the price is 50 % .....
Good advice with bring your own Ligh tube too :-)

[Dustbak]

Indeed the Ikea tip is a very welcome one which I will definitely use (especially since I am at the moment I am typing this color correcting some interior office images that were downright horrible).

[EricWHiss]

Thanks EPd,
Just wanted to add that I'll bet one could easily make these run off of batteries as well, which would make them even more useful - no cords to run or hide.
Eric