Taking pictures of documents

[perobin3884]

I have a Cybershot DSC-T99.  How should I photograph documents so that the whites are white and not grey?

Message was edited by: perobin3884

Message was edited by: perobin3884

[GoNz0-]

you will need to use the custom white balance

[perobin3884]

I tried adjusting the white balance.  I used a blank white sheet of paper on the floor with the camera mounted on a tripod two feet above.  The light source came from the window.  The document picture was as grey as it was without adjusting the white balance.

[GoNz0-]

take a photo of this after printing it out

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_OuvVbrNrB0/TdhCjI3eCwI/AAAAAAAAByA/3oEZjyLetpw/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG

as its 18% gray it should help the camera figure out white.

[Watashiwateshdes · Accepted solution]

Your best best bet is going to be an attempt to overexpose more than setting your white balance. Whilst setting your WB may help, it may not be able to totally resolve your issue.

Under the shooting menu, you have a [+/-] option (EV) which is your exposure compensation. Bump this up to a positive number and see how you get on. In essence, you are compensating for the grey that the camera is thinking is correct.

See how you get on. This can be found on page 33 in your manual if you need more info.    

[perobin3884]

Sorry for delay.  I have tried over-exposing and resetting the white balance and get a very slight change.  However, I get an acceptable result by changing the contrast using Picasso!

Message was edited by: perobin3884

Message was edited by: perobin3884