Nikon D50 Question

[MyOwnGrowOp]

Hey guys, I have a nikon D50 that I am fairly familiar with the settings on it but I was wondering a few things. What should my settings be like for taking shots under actinic light? Everyone always has such beautiful zoa shots under actinic but when I try, the picture just looks blue.. Barely any color in the coral at all. Any hints?

 

[klepto]

I typically leave the white balance (WB) on my D-50 set to auto. I depend on the post processing (Completed in photoshop) to adjust WB. This is why shooting in RAW format is key. Without all the information preserved in a RAW file, fine tuning WB is much more difficult. A RAW file can be manipulated to render a much more realistic and balanced image if it is edited properly. Conversely, it can also allow photographers to produce very unrealistic images, with ridiculous colors.

Under actinic lighting, images will look predominantly blue, with a lot of color loss. This can be remedied in post processing, but I prefer shooting under more balanced lighting.

 

[BlueCorn]

The problem is white balance. The easiest solution is to shoot in RAW mode and correct the white balance in software. Other alternatives involve learning how to set a custom white balance in your camera.