The Photo Master Target

The Photo Master Target in 5 easy steps !

The PhotoMasterTarget disc
measures the quantity AND the quality of light.

The Tool
The PhotoMasterTarget disc looks like a photographic reflector and like it, it can be collapsed to use only a fraction of the space, this allowed us to include on the disc the largest grey card on the market, that can still fit in your photo bag. The PhotoMasterTarget is made of 4 distinct regions called patches. The largest is the grey patch, made of chromatically neutral synthetic material it will remain stable in density and color for years to come. The black patch reflects only about 3% of the light it receives, the white reflective patch will reflect more than 92% of the light and the dull translucent patch will reflect 80% of the light. The translucent patch is made of 100% colorless white fabric that will allow a shoot through white balancing area as well as a reflected low-light reflected white balance patch. NOW AVAILABLE IN 3 SIZES.

The “How-To”
Set your camera on manual. Set the exposure on the grey patch. Take a picture of the PhotoMasterTarget using the setting you just measured, then check the histogram, you should see 4 separated peaks, not touching neither end. Make a custom white balance on the grey patch or through the translucent white patch, set it as the working white balance. Shoot! Online manual

JPEG or RAW that is the question
The answer will always be in the air. The choice is yours, there are advantages to both. But one great thing is that the PhotoMasterTarget will help you whatever is your choice. If you shoot directly in JPG you will have the insurance of having a perfectly exposed file on your card, knowing that when you will download it, it will be on the target as per exposure and color. If you shoot RAW by including the disc in on of the image of your shoot will allow you to catch back on color and exposure when you are back in front of your computer, having true reference images shot in actual condition of the shoot.

The PhotoMasterTarget disc will give you great results if you shoot JPEG or RAW files. It will confirm in seconds before you shoot one single frame the whiteness of the white, the exposure, the contrast and the avoidance of overexposure.

The Need
The color balance also called the white balance is a technique that will ensure a photographed object to be captured with its real colors, ensuring an optimal rendering at the moment of display on the computer monitor or on the final print. Your camera has setting of exposure and color balance that can be set to automatic; however automatic does not mean exact.

Why should you avoid “auto-white-balance” ?
Because cameras are not photographers.

Many factors can, may and will interact with the colors perceived by your camera. Our eye with the help of our brain will adjust the color balance of what we see, but your camera sensor will see and record exactly what you aim your camera at.

Some years ago when only film was available, you were buying daylight type film (some young readers may not have known film…) if you wanted to work under tungsten or most artificial light you had to buy Tungsten type film or use a corrective filter over your lens to change the properties of the light entering your camera.

Today you have to activate the color filters built in your digital camera either automatically by selecting “auto white balance” on your camera setting or for a professionnal and perfect approach you will have to set a custom white balance.

To do this using the PhotoMasterTarget disc, after placing the disc in the same light as your subject receives, you will navigate the menus of your camera to reach the custon white balance setting preset and aim at the grey patch of the disc or through the white translucent material and choose “SET” to record the value. You will now aim at your subject and take your image with the perfect colors. SEE DETAILED MANUAL

See the Photo Master Target IN ACTION!

User Manual

The PhotoMasterTarget can be used to different levels of reading. Select from basic exposure to RAW images postproduction. Be sure to choose the one you are comfortable with.
Custom lectures, coaching and trainings

NOTE: each brand and even each model of camera menu and settings are different. But the photographic exposure and color balance is universal. Refer to you camera’s manual to achieve the desired steps requested. It may seems complicated at first but you will get used to it and the quality of your images will motivate you to do it.

The model of target may differ in look in the sample images but it is made of the same fabrics with the same properties.

Simple exposure setting Use one of 2 methods
Any situation including studio work	Any situation, not suitable for studio work
Set your camera on manual exposure Position the PhotoMasterTarget at your subject’s position, facing at the main light (brightest light) Aim your camera at the grey patch (without casting your shadow) Achieve correct exposure by setting the speed and the aperture. Take away the disc, DO NOT CHANGE THE SPEED AND APERTURE SETTING, frame and shoot as long as you are in the same lighting	Set your camera on “A” Aperture priority Position the PhotoMasterTarget at your subject’s position, so it receives the same amount of light Aim your camera at the grey patch (without casting your shadow) Depress the shutter halfway, to have the camera display the suggested speed Move the mode dial from “A” to “M” manual setting and set the speed to the proposed speed in the previous step. Take away the disc, DO NOT CHANGE THE SPEED AND APERTURE SETTING, frame and shoot as long as you are in the same lighting

Simple white balance setting
Aim at the grey patch Select Preset White Balance or Custom White Balance at One Touch White Balance on your camera Click the shutter or the button Set the white balance as the active setting And shoot using either the preset reading or your selected shooting mode

Incident white balance setting
Can be used under any kind of light

Aim at the main light through the translucent part of the disc
Select Preset White Balance or Custom White Balance at One Touch White balance on your camera
Click the shutter or the button
Set the white balance as the active setting
And shoot using either the preset reading or your selected shooting mode

Histogram reading
Now that you have set the exposure and the white balance Take one image of the 4 patches of the target Display your images as well as the histogram and you should clearly see 4 distinct peaks on the histogram, the left peak shows your black pixels, the middle one shows the grey pixels and the 2 peaks on the right represent your 2 shades of white pixels.

Mixed lighting white balance setting Use one of 2 methods
Any situation including studio work	Any situation, not suitable for studio work
Set your camera on manual exposure, dial in the measured exposure Position the PhotoMasterTarget at your subject’s position, facing at the main light (brightest light) Move to be as close to your subject location, facing the main light, this will select for which light you are white balancing, letting the other lamps with their own casts. Aim at the main light through the translucent part of the disc sticking your lens to the fabric Select Preset White Balance or Custom White Balance at One Touch White Balance on your camera Click the shutter or the button Set the white balance as the active setting Take away the disc, DO NOT CHANGE THE SPEED AND APERTURE SETTING, frame and shoot your subject as long as you are in the same lighting	Set your camera on “A”,”P” or “S”Aperture priority Position the PhotoMasterTarget at your subject’s position, facing at the main light (brightest light) Move to be as close to your subject location, facing the main light, this will select for witch light you are white balancing, letting the other lamps with their own casts. Aim at the main light through the translucent part of the disc sticking your lens to the fabric Select Preset White Balance or Custom White Balance at One Touch White Balance on your camera Click the shutter or the button Set the white balance as the active setting Take away the disc, DO NOT CHANGE THE SPEED AND APERTURE SETTING, frame and shoot your subject as long as you are in the same lighting

Features

“I developped the PhotoMasterTarget as the only tool that a photographer needs to keep with him at all time and made it easy to do so. I consider myself as a photgrapher requesting high quality images but I want to concentrate more on the image that on the tools and processes.”
Jean-Francois O’Kane, inventor !

Photographic tool
The PhotoMasterTarget disc was design for the digital photographer, serious about the quality of his images
Video tool
The PhotoMasterTarget disc can be used as a large white balancing target for video enthusiast and as a calibrating reference when clips are made in different lights and you want the whole movie to be consistent.
Exposure control
By aiming a light meter or the lens of your digital camera at the dull 18% grey patch of The PhotoMasterTarget disc, you will be able to set the exposure exactly in any lighting condition.
Incident white balance
You may perform a custom white balance by aiming your camera at the main light through the translucent patch of The PhotoMasterTarget disc. The chosen fabric is “born white” and sinthetic, meaning that it has not been bleached. Bleached textiles will always carry the trace of their original color, inducing an inadequate color correction.
Reflective white balance
You may perform a custom white balance by aiming your camera at the dull 18% grey patch of The PhotoMasterTarget disc.
18% reflective grey
The PhotoMasterTarget disc has a large 18% dull grey patch, making it easy to aim your camera or lightmeter to set your exposure and white balance.
Size of grey card
The PhotoMasterTarget disc is the largest grey card on the market.
Contrast control
When taking a test image of The PhotoMasterTarget disc and displaying it on your camera’s monitor with the histogram visible, you will be able to check, set and correct the exposure for a total use of the range of contrast available to your camera.
Maximum exposure safe zone
With the 2 white patches, The PhotoMasterTarget disc will inform you on the histogram of any danger of overexposing.
Black patch
By setting the exposure to get the black patch away from the extreme left of the histogram you will achieve black with detail in your images.
18% grey target carry bag
You just want to perform a quick light measure or color balance, just aim at the photographic grey carry bag of The PhotoMasterTarget disc, and voila!
4 density regions for RAW workflow management
With his 4 distinct and color neutral patches, The PhotoMasterTarget disc is your best asset in RAW file color and density post management.
Not made of plastic or rubber
Because plastic and rubber tend to turn yellow or to crack when stored, our development looked intensively for permanently dyed fabric to avoid wearing and storing problems.