Appendix B: How to Use the Color Checker Gray Scale Card
Have you ever wondered how photographers are able to consistently produce photos with accurate color and exposure? It’s often because they use a color checker gray scale card. Knowing how to use this tool helps take some of the guesswork out of capturing photos with great color and correct exposures every time.
The color of light varies by light source, so what you might decide is neutral in your photograph isn’t neutral at all. This is where a color checker gray scale card comes in. It is designed to reflect the color spectrum neutrally in all sorts of lighting conditions and provide a point from which you can measure shadows and highlights. It creates a measuring standard for later color corrections or to set a custom white balance on the spot.
When taking a photo of the card, unfocus the lens a bit; this ensures that you capture more even color.
You can use the card to:
• Correct color later. Compose your shot, setting the card in the scene, which ensures you have a neutral item to adjust colors against later. Make sure that the card is placed in the same light as the subject, and then remove the card and continue shooting. Because many common photo processing software programs enable you to address color correction issues, having the color checker gray card in the first of a series of photos allows you to adjust colors with reference values for neutral, black, and white. Depending on the capabilities of your software, ...
