White Card Balance - Meter from White Paper
 

This one shows the paper accurate, but subject is darker than normal.

My metering is Center Meter and EV @ PLUS 0.3 in PROGRAM MODE for all three images.

White Balance - Meter from Skin Area
 

This one brings in more detail around the White Paper - yet keeps the white paper clean and clear.

White Balance - Meter from Grey Card
 

This one keeps the White Paper and Grey Card - both - clean and reasonably accurate - in brightness and tone.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is this thread actually about?

My idea here is - to take images of the white photo print paper - dull side - and meter from various parts of the image - like the - photo paper, skin, and grey card. My idea is to keep the white photo paper - as clean and clear in each of them - as I am able.

My study has always been to have as clean and clear a white tone - when I have it in my images - as I am able to make it.

Then - on the P C - I used a scanned - dull side - photo print paper = and piggybacked it over the whilte paper in the image - and worked up the white paper in the image to match the brightness of the scanned white paper - using a photo lupe at the seam between the two white areas. When I finish the match - most times I crop out the white photo papers.

My idea is to make one white tone between the two white papers - or as close as I can - and hopefully - by doing this - keep the rest of my image tones, colors, and all - as accurately as I can as well.

Digital cams are calibrated to white rather than mid grey of film cams - that is why I used the white photo paper.

My image of the harbour and boats - posted yesterday in the gallery - turned out better than I thought - considering the water and sky - and aiming the cam straight at the scene - using this matching idea.

If I were you I'd photograph a grey scale, get it printed well and compare to an actual grayscale - actually all this could be done on the computer - that way you can see how the camera places middle grey etc.

I have some grey scales I found on web sites - so may give that a go. Since digi's came on line, I have always been working with my whites. I did frequent grey scale checks with my film cams.

On the end of my grey scales - I have a couple of squares of whlte - so may be able to use both - white plus blacks through greys. My 1- point GRAY SCALE & VALUE FINDER - also scanned on here - could be used as well - although that is for painting more than pics - but still has some value for assessing tones.

bRAY SCALE VALUE FINDER MATCH
 

This is done matching a SCANNED G S % V F CARD PIGGYBACKED OVER this CARD and MATCHED VALUE 9 and 10. I METERED from VALUE 3 with EV @ PLUS 0.3

Sorry Norm, that's not correct. Digital camera's meters are calibrated for mid grey, just the same as film cameras.

When did this come about? When digital video and stills came about, they used white discs to set the WB and I am sure I have seen it = in print - mentioned that digitals were set up for white.

If the newer models have been set up for mid grey - that I do not know. I will enquire of some cam shops for currrent info. At the time the digis came out, I thought, why did the calibration change?