Diving board - color balance issues

[neil916]

I'm new to this and this is my posting, but can I do anything when shooting photos like the attached example to minimize the bluish cast on the diver's skin resulting from the reflection off the pool? I know it can be done in post-production, but I'm limiting myself to the kinds of tweaks that I can do with Picasa for now until I feel I have a good handle on my shooting skills first. I'm somewhat resigned to the fact that I can't do it in-camera, but I thought I'd throw it out to see if anybody has some suggestions.

Camera is a Nikon D90, this picture was shot at 220mm at f/5 for 1/1000 sec with the white balance setting at "fine weather" (sunny day). Flash was not used. ISO 320. Time of the shot was about 4:30pm in late September. I was standing on the far edge of the pool. If I adjust the camera's white balance to account for the bluish hue, then everything else in the photo has color balance issues (not to mention that when I spin around and shoot something where the pool reflection isn't a factor, the whites are really messed up).

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[lerabu]

Hi Neil,

I have had similar issues. Even though I cannot give you a fully satisfactory answer I have been trying to learn to use the temperature setting for WB and to try to find the appropriate Kelvins for the light source. It is a bit more work before you start shooting but after a while you will be able to guess what kind of Kelvin is appropriate for what kind of photography conditions.

Understanding White Balance

I suggest downloading a copy of Lightroom, it can give you alot more control in postproduction and it is actually quite easy to use once you get around knowing what does what.

I hope it helped!

Regards,
Filip

[Jim Bryant]

Another factor is that the child is rim lighted and back lite by the sun and the front of her was not getting the same exposure as the background. That and the color of the water reflecting of her which, might account for the blue tint as well.

[neil916]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

Another factor is that the child is rim lighted and back lite by the sun and the front of her was not getting the same exposure as the background. That and the color of the water reflecting of her which, might account for the blue tint as well.

Do you think that a decent flash (which I don't yet have) might have been able to reach her and avoided this problem? I was about 30 ft away.

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by neil916

Do you think that a decent flash (which I don't yet have) might have been able to reach her and avoided this problem? I was about 30 ft away.

Yes, it would have helped. My EX 580 go up to about 105 feet and you can dial down the amount of flash output so that it's not overpowering and used as a fill.

[dblaveino]

Unless I am shooting the same subject over and over, and I can really control the white balance, then I typically use my WB setting on Auto... and then let the camera do most of the work. If it was slightly off, then I can fix it later, not a big deal... here you run into the issue of the blue reflected light from the pool...

You arent going to be able to "fix" this without blowing out the rest of the photo to a more orangey glow. I quite like the photo and the contrast of the complimentary colors makes it quite unique. Personally I say leave it, because it makes for an interesting photo.

You can "fix" this issue with a decent amount of post processing and brush work, but I think that it would most likely come out with something less exciting as your current photo!!!

Great Shot!

[neil916]

Thank you, everybody, for the feedback.

[photog1107]

Plus, just one more comment... a blueish cast caused by a pool reflection is the reality of the shot... not an error on the part of the photographer, like white balance issues often are. I would err on the side or creating a photo that reflects reality--that is having the background and surrounding environs with the correct white balance and having some forgiveness for the blue pool cast... after all, this IS a shot of someone at a pool--not a portrait shot. Just food for thought.