Doing Raw-style white balance changes with JPG's

[Sean Dempsey]

I have decided to try using JPG's for a while instead of RAW's on my 10D.

My question is, is there a way in PS CS to do the same thing as the RAW editor does to change white balance? In the RAW editor, you can just select the light source, and it changes the image accordingly. Is there a more "manual" way to do this with a JPG using the tools in CS?

[mjm]

when i have a color cast i will generaly use Image > Adjust > Color Balance. not sure if that will help you out with white balance...

[another view]

Sean, most of the files I shoot are JPEG but I shoot RAW in tricky situations. If you can shoot slide film reliably, you should be fine with JPEG - and save a lot of time in the process.

Scott Kelby's book Adobe Photoshop CS for Digital Photographers shows a way to replicate color conversion filters. Basically, you open a second layer that's about the color of an 81A or whatever filter you want, and change the opacity to get the effect you want. The book has step-by-step instructions and also recommended color values for 81A, B, C and 80A, B, C filters. Works pretty well.

[Sean Dempsey]

If you can shoot slide film reliably, you should be fine with JPEG

I've never shot film in my life.

I'll grab that book and check it out.

[another view]

I've never shot film in my life.

Repeat after me: "The histogram is our friend"

JPEG's shoot a lot like slides - very little tolerance for exposure error. Highlights can go from some detail to blown out in 1/2 stop. Anyway, once you get used to it you'll be able to work quicker.

[Asylum Steve]

Sean,

Despite the fact that some of us are married to RAW shooting mode, IMO it makes perfect sense to give jpeg mode a try. You may find it gives you shots just as good with a much more steamlined workflow.

As others here have already mentioned, photoshop indeed has the tools to manually adjust, correct, or simply tweak the color balance of your images. And when you start to take a close look at just how many color options and tools you actually have in ps, you realize that that is one of the most amazing features of the program.

You have a virtually limitless number of color "filters" to apply to an image, to more or less a limitless degree. Best of all, you can apply any of them to as much or as little of the shot as you want.

I also agree that Kelby's books are a good place to start...