I mostly use color negative film, but even with slides, it is sometimes difficult to get a desired color just right. I realized I could use my digital camera profitably to help. I take along a gray card, put it somewhere in the scene, and snap some digital photos. That way, by examining the images in my photoeditor, I can determine what the RGB values should be relative to the gray card of important parts of the scene. I can then apply this in setting the color balance in my scanned 4 x 5 images, without any gray card present. Usually, there are enough neutral elements of a scene that I don't need to bother with this, but in tricky situations, it can be helpful.
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