Tungsten – this mode is usually symbolized with a little bulb and is for shooting indoors, especially under tungsten (incandescent) lighting (such as bulb lighting). It generally cools down the colors in photos. (Digital Photography School)
White balance can make or break a photo (and photographer sometimes) but sometimes it can make for some very interesting results. The tungsten setting on your camera will turn a non-tungsten lit photo quite blue even though tungsten lighting inside will result in this dreadful yellowish cast to the photo, hence the tungsten setting in white balance to correct that or just fix it in raw later. It will speed up your workflow if you get it right in camera but we all know how that can go sometimes. Today I would like to share what I ended up with that I initially thought was one heck of a storm coming in until I realized I forgot to change my WB settings from tungsten to cloudy (or AWB since I was shooting through a window. Yes! AWB. It’s not always a bad thing to use).
Here is the SOOC photo taken with the WB on Tungsten. True, there is that bluish tint going on but it looks interesting as there was all sorts of bad weather going on at the time (rain, hail, wind, etc.).
So I decided to just go with the “mistake” and play around with it in the raw settings. First is a combination of tungsten and portrait picture style. The blue tint is a bit brighter.
This is tungsten and landscape style. The blue is darker and richer; gave the scene a really ominous look in my opinion.
Tungsten and monochrome really helps to convey the dark and stormy ambiance of the photo.
And finally we have the photo corrected to the proper white balance and style.
Sometimes it is fun to experiment with a photo to see what new look you can give it, but if you are going to do this might I suggest shooting in RAW so you have the freedom to experiment.
(Please try to ignore the reflection of the lights from inside of the walkway that show in the photo. I was so busy focusing on the street and looking up occasionally to see if I needed to get away from a big glass window from what at one time looked like it could turn into a really ugly storm; I did not pay attention to the lights behind me.)
#1 by cecilia on January 7, 2013 - 8:51 am
I should do more of this .. experimenting, but I shoot on the fly .. but honestly I need to read the bloody book and teach myself more about this camera.. the one setting I must find is to achieve crisp shots in the barn with very little light at all at this time of year!!
#2 by imagesbytdashfield on January 7, 2013 - 8:57 am
I still am reading the book for my camera! lol But on the fly has it’s obvious merits. Only thing I can suggest is open that aperture and higher ISO for the low lights. Which in turn opens up a whole set of “issues” that sometimes comes with those settings. Experiment to see what works – I just know you will find it!
#3 by cecilia on January 7, 2013 - 10:32 am
All good, I really need to pause and think a little more, Oh and I am following y6our lead and opening a zazzle store, has that worked out for you? any tips?.. c
#4 by imagesbytdashfield on January 7, 2013 - 10:40 am
I’ve had moderate success but like with anything else you get as much as you put in and well………..I’ve had on and off moments. Karen (KKH photography) is the guru for this as she was my mentor.
#5 by cecilia on January 7, 2013 - 12:53 pm
I would say it is all about marketing.. and marketing on the interwebs is hard!! c
#6 by Ingrid on January 7, 2013 - 11:05 am
How fun. Amazing how the same photo can look so different. I’m still in the point and shoot stage….lol
#7 by imagesbytdashfield on January 7, 2013 - 11:09 am
You point and shoot purty durn good!
That’s how everyone starts.
#8 by dedivahdeals on January 7, 2013 - 12:45 pm
Wow – these are some amazing differences with the same shot;
#9 by imagesbytdashfield on January 7, 2013 - 4:16 pm
And this was before getting anywhere near any photoshopping
#10 by KKHPhotos.com on January 7, 2013 - 6:55 pm
Awesome results. I need to play around with my messed up shots a little more! Oh; and I see you are heading into another new adventure. Congrats.
#11 by imagesbytdashfield on January 7, 2013 - 7:40 pm
Thank you! I owe a lot of this to you
What made this exercise cool was that everything was good but the WB
#12 by ChgoJohn on January 8, 2013 - 1:13 am
I am familiar with the tungsten setting, having taking more than my fair share of photos using it, unintentionally, of course. I’m sure one day I may come to like it but, for now, its existence is nothing more than a delay of my dinner when I have to re-shoot the blog photos.
#13 by imagesbytdashfield on January 8, 2013 - 4:59 am
You must learn the ways of white balance, grasshopper!