# Consistency in Images, how?



## SMP (Oct 10, 2014)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sosf-m/sets/72157633243811058/

Hi all,

please take a look at the images on my flickr page via the link above.

All of these were edited in Lr and I made use of the copy and paste facility to apply the same adjustments to each image. Although they look reasonable I don't believe they demonstrate consistency throughout. These were all taken under similar conditions. I have taken other images under different conditions where i want them all to show consistency in how they look and feel. 

Does anyone have any tips for achieving this in Lr that maybe begins with the copy and paste function but develops on from that. I would be interested in your responses.

Thanks,

Sos F-M.


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## Mburke (Oct 10, 2014)

It looks like a white balance issue. On the kitchen shots the ones that are a little on the orange side all have the colored wall, floor, and/or window in it. The whiter ones don't. The bedroom ones and living room are primarily white except for the one bedroom with the red in it. If you apply the same settings to all the white balance will be off on the ones with the orange or red colors in it. If you copy the setting and touch up the wb you should be good.

Mike


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## SMP (Oct 14, 2014)

Apologies for my delay in replying Mike. New pup in the family occupying time! I am pretty sure I copied across the exact same WB settings from the first image to the rest but will make sure I pay particular attention.


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## tspear (Oct 14, 2014)

You missed Mike's point. You do NOT use the same white balance settings for each picture. Instead you need to adjust the white balance based on the environment and the actual light present. Each picture is unique (or close enough for discussion purposes) that you can expect to make changes to some values to get the most from the images and to make all the images look consistent. And, no, I cannot do this yet. 

Tim


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## Tony Jay (Oct 14, 2014)

Tim is correct!

What you need to do with an image is use the White Balance Selector tool (it looks like an eye-dropper and is found at the top of the Basic panel in the Develop module) and click on a part of the image that should be white (or a neutral grey).
If several images have been taken in the exact same lighting conditions it is possible (and easy) to synchronise any Develop settings including white balance.

Tony Jay


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## SMP (Oct 15, 2014)

Tony, I do use the WB eye dropper tool and try to select an area that is white or neutral grey. I also look at the RGB values and try to choose an area where the percentages are numerically as close to each other as possible and make the adjustment from that point. From what Tim suggests though it seems to me that it is not safe to assume when copying this setting over to other images that it alone will not work. That is just the starting point and then each individual image needs adjusting by comparing the master image with the image you are working on by having them both on screen at the same time?

Soren.


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## Tony Jay (Oct 16, 2014)

Hi Soren.

If there is a WB problem then trying to use an area that is currently neutral, according to RGB values, will *not* sort the problem.
What you need to do is select an area that you *know* should be white or neutral grey such as a wall or ceiling painted white or whatever object that is present that should be neutral.
If there is a WB problem those areas will not be neutral or white in the image until the corrections are made.

If I am shooting many images in the *same lighting conditions *then an appropriate WB correction to one image should work for all.

Tony Jay


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## MarkNicholas (Oct 16, 2014)

The big issue with white balance is that it is subjective. There are some shots that never ever look right and never will. What looks good today looks off tomorrow. Getting two similar but different shots to look identical is also not easy to do.


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## Lokitoz (Jan 6, 2015)

MarkNicholas said:


> The big issue with white balance is that it is subjective. There are some shots that never ever look right and never will. What looks good today looks off tomorrow. Getting two similar but different shots to look identical is also not easy to do.



Very well said, I could not have said it better.

The problem with image editing is that there is no right or wrong in no aspect of an image, everything is subjective to your own liking. And the worse is that your liking will change. It is like equalizing a song, one night on your way home you will adjust the equalizer to be perfect, the next morning you get on the car, play the same song, and it will sound terrible, so you have to adjust again.

This is when its get frustrating with photoshop, lightroom and the like, you have to have a loose grip on things so that you won't go crazy.

Here is your dilemma, each room of that house is lit differently, each surface inside of each of those rooms is different, each angle and camera setting of each shot is different, that means each photo of each room of each object will have its own DNA, its own personality, its own tint, its own mood and feel to the white balance. So you trying to make all images consistent in a way is defeating the purpose.

But if you insist, my recommendation is to pick the one best shot to your eyes on this given moment, concentrate on that one photo and make the white balance perfect according to your senses today. Then go one by one and fine tune each of the rest of the images while comparing it to that perfect photo, comparing is magical and thankfully lightroom makes that possible. Some images you will succeed, other images you will destroy them trying to get them to be look consistent.


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