Early morning photography

[DisneyGeek92]

When I am at Disney World I get up early while my group is still asleep and go take pictures of the resort: because it's like night time but much less crowded. This time brought a particular problem to my attention. I do fine when it is completely dark or completely light but not in the in between like between 6:00 - 8:00 am (just an estimate) I can't seem to get the colours right they turn out blue or too warm. Do any of you have a solution for this? I shoot manual and either use auto or custom WB.

 

[idarknight]

Can you shoot RAW? That would let you adjust white balance after the fact.

 

[Roger]

If they are too blue, I would try the overcast setting as well. And if they are too warm, maybe the full sunlight setting?

idarknight's suggestion is really good too. In most (should be all) RAW processors you can switch between the various WB settings to see how you like them, and you can also pinpoint a white balance in your photo or an 18% gray as well.

 

[Scott]

I'm not sure why they would be too warm (unless you're getting the color of the sodium vapor lamps - in that case, try the incadescent setting). Most ambient light at that time is from the dark blue sky, so to warm that up a bit, try the cloudy or shade setting. If you have a piece of white paper or something similar, you can also use a custom white balance. Its not as difficult as it might seem; your owner's manual will have the specific instructions.

 

[DisneyGeek92]

I can't shoot RAW because I am using a point and shoot so I have to shoot jpg(I hope to get a DSLR in the future.) Thank's for the advice.