Since we started blogging on a regular basis, we’ve shared so much more about us, our business, our workflow, and tried to provide value for our clients and other photographers and entrepreneurs alike.
If you missed it, we talked about why we blog Monday-Friday, which you can go back and read here!
Through that openness, we’ve received a lot of questions on particular subjects, and one that sticks out the most has been how we make our images so bright and airy. Many have asked for the secret sauce Lightroom Preset that gives us that natural look – so today we are spilling the beans!!
The Lightroom Preset we use the most is….
Well…
Actually, not a preset.
Sorry if that one caught you off guard!
In the words of I Love Lucy : We’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!!
Early in our business, when it was still a side hustle, we set out to define our style. We knew that we wanted a particular look and feel to our photos. We actually took the time to define what that was with good old fashion paper and pen. We came up with words like bright, airy, classic, timeless, natural light. The more we thought on it and the more we were shooting, we had a clearer and clearer picture of what that looked like, and we found a process that worked for us to be able to achieve that look every time.
Before Erica and Jon Photography existed, Erica was shooting on her own and did use Lightroom Presets and Photoshop Actions. The problem was that they resulted in photos that were someone else’s style. It wasn’t true to who we are. And the finished product never seemed to be consistent.
We knew there had to be a better way.
That’s when we were introduced to our only Lightroom Preset. We know you are now thinking ‘But wait, I thought you didn’t use presets?!’
We don’t.
We pre-set everything in our cameras so that post processing in Lightroom is a breeze!
Our pre-set is a handy little tool called the Expo Disc.
You see, the consistent struggle our images had was white balance. Some photos looked too warm and orange. Others would come out too cool and blue. Sometimes we’d have weird balances of greens and purples that really threw us for a curve.
The Expo Disc solved all of those issues for us.
Auto White balance on a DSLR works OK some of the time. The problem is that the way the technology works leads to inconsistent white balance. The camera is constantly adjusting and readjusting white balance based on wherever you are metering – even if the light hasn’t changed at all!
A DSLR camera sensor reads color at 18% grey. Understanding the reasons and technology behind that doesn’t really matter. What DOES matter is understanding that the Expo Disc allows you to hand feed your camera the 18% grey light transmission that it needs to set it’s white balance to the proper level. This ability gives you perfect white balance and tint no matter what light you are shooting in.
The best part? It’s incredibly easy to use. The steps for Nikon and Canon are a little different, but we’ll review the basics with a Canon below since that is what we shoot personally.
Step 1
Place the Expo Disc over your lens and switch your lens to manual focus.
The camera, when set to auto focus, will not trigger the shutter if an out of focus image is in frame. The Expo Disc will not allow your camera to focus, so you must switch to manual focus to operate the shutter.
Note: this is only true if your shutter button is used for auto focus. If you utilize back button focus, you can skip this step.
Step 2
Aim your lens towards the light you will be shooting in.
You’ll want to stand near your subject and point the camera lens – with the Expo Disc attached – towards where the camera will be when you take the photo. We know – this sounds weird, but trust us! Walk to where your client will be, turn and face back to where you will be taking the photo from and snap the picture!
It looks like this: Jon is setting his white balance and will be shooting from the same perspective where Erica took the image of him.
Step 3
Set your camera white balance to Custom White Balance and apply the grey frame image you just took.
Enter your camera menu and scroll right in the menu (in our camera bodies it is the third menu in). Go to the white balance setting and select custom white balance. Now, go to the Custom White Balance selection (one spot down) and select the image you just took as the sample image. Apply the image.
Step 4
Start shooting! Your camera is now calibrated for white balance based on the grey frame image you just took! You’ll find that your white balance in post processing is spot on, leaving you to adjust minor levels instead of tweaking the color of the image for hours on end one by one!
One more note: if you move into different light, you’ll need to use your Expo Disc again, so keep it handy! It may seem like a little process at first, but we promise, the more you use it the faster you’ll be at it! We now set our white balance with the Expo Disc in less than 3 seconds – so even if you start slow, it will get easier and save you so much time in the long run!
So there you have it, friends! Our secret Lightroom Pre-Set!
Comments +