ontherocks wrote:
I've tried various things like an expodisc and a color card that you shoot at the beginning of each scene but never "warmed"up to them.

terrible pun.  i love it!!!

Voy wrote:
I use the X Rite Color Checker. It is the best way to color correct the scene.

Agreed. Pass on the expodisc - it's not even true neutral. Sure it comes with a cute little test chart explaining how neutral it is, but somehow you always end up warm. Not very, but it's not worth the hassle of using a calibration tool if you're still going to have to dick with it - you can get those same results with a Pringles lid for $1.50. Plus, free Pringles!

I have a theory that, because plastics yellow with age, the expodisc is blue in order to extend its useful life; rather than being way off part of the time you own it, it's slightly off most of the time you own it. I'll bet that if you had one that was two years old, it would be bang on.

The passport is more work, as creating a custom correction curve is a giant pain until you've done it several dozen times. But it's the closest thing to an accurate, automatic system I'm aware of. It also allows for fixing color cast across the spectrum, while discs and grey cards only correct their own portion of the spectrum. Since most cameras don't have a consistent cast (Canon's red is more pronounced in midtones, for instance) , that can be a big deal if you're being obsessive.

Not that you need to be obsessive. But if you're spending the time and money to use a specialized calibration tool, it should be right, dammit.

FIFTYONE PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:
The argument or conflicting information online is that the Grey card is, or should be used, for setting the exposure and a White card used for setting the White balance.

you just need to understand the word "neutral", as in neutral grey and "white". a neutral grey and neutral white are the same color balance. for color correction there is no difference.

ontherocks wrote:
I think some people put gels on their flashes (like a warming gel) for certain situations.

I've tried various things like an expodisc and a color card that you shoot at the beginning of each scene but never warmed up to them.

Warming gels or CTO.  (Color Temperature Orange) is designed to alter flash to match the ambient light.  They are most commonly used in full, 1/2 and 1/4 cuts.  You can also get 3/4 cuts but theres little point in that and few people do. Rather than being art gels like blue, red, green etc these are intended to be white balanced color correction gels. 

I use them for both color correction for white balance and to push color in camera to the extremes.  The shot below is an example of that.

I set the white balance on the camera all the way down to 2500K which pushed the ambient light for the background all the way to 10,000K+  Then hit my subject with a flash using two full cuts of CTO. That set my subjects skin to perhaps anywhere between 1400K - 1600K.  Since blues and yellows are complementary colors it works well without looking freakishly fake.

FIFTYONE PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:
* My next set will be outdoors and the concern is the ever changing ambient.

If I remain in a particular outdoor location for any period of time will this affect My white balance? 

This one may be a no brainer but if I move to a different spot in the same general location will this affect My white balance?


I shoot with off camera flash and will be setting white balance with the flash.  Is this wise outdoors or just go with auto white balance?

The camera's hardware white balance is fixed, you can't change it. What you change is the way the raw data is developed in which process you assign the white balance. For correct exposure (exposing to the right) you should watch the raw histogram, i.e. that which the hardware of the camera gives you. Everything else you do in post. Learn about UniWB and ETTR.