Trailing Arbutus...white balance problem?

[Teewinot]

I was out shooting Trailing Arbutus in my woods today and I found some plants that had pinker flowers than others (the others being white). When I downloaded the shots and looked at them, I was disappointed to see that the pink flowers looked rather white. Is this a white balance problem? I read the article on DPS on white balance because I pretty much know very little about the concept, but I'd appreciate confirmation that this is my problem. I have never adjusted white balance before, nor did I do it today and the sky was overcast.



(p.s. I posted an edited version of this shot in the "A is for..." thread and I was able to bring out the pink a little by increasing the saturation, but I'd rather get the real deal by doing it right in camera )

[Nieton21]

not a hundred percent for sure, but I would think that it wouldn't be that much of a white balance issue since everything else seems proper colors. They for sure don't seem to cool which would be a sign of the white balance. My first suggestion would be to let the image be a little bit underexposed which tends to make colors a bit richer. Since the flowers are white and very contrasted by the background it should give a bit more detail by doing this. When I look at the flowers their are parts that seem a bit blown out to me so I would think this is a plausible solution.

Another suggestions is maybe use a longer shutter speed with a smaller Aperture and maybe it will capture more information about the colors. The only problem you wouldn't have such a great depth of field that you have. I suppose you can give this option a try and then blur the edges to regain DOF. I would think its more of a exposure problem, but again I not sure.

These are just some suggestions to try. I hope they help.

[Teewinot]

Nieton21, thanks for your response. It makes sense that it could be an exposure problem. I shot the flower in Program mode, so the camera did what it wanted. I am excited to try your suggestions on this flower and future shots as I think you may be on to something! I have been frustrated in the past with this color loss issue, mostly with flowers (esp. spring beauties!), so hopefully I can avoid it from now on. Thanks again!

[Teewinot]

OK, so I did some experiments today and I thought I'd share. I had to find a new set of flowers since the original one was wilting. These were only slightly pink. I have three shots (FYI, it was overcast again today):

1. Program mode (f/3.2, 1/80 sec., ISO-50, WB Auto)

2. Program mode (f/3.2, 1/100 sec., ISO-75, WB adjusted to Overcast)

3. Manual mode (f/8, 1/30 sec., ISO-50, WB Auto)

So, the differences aren't that dramatic, but three things seem noticeable: (1) the flowers in the first shot are pretty badly washed out, (2) changing the WB to Overcast warmed the shot a bit, and (3) making the aperture smaller darkened the shot, but did bring out the colors and details more.