How do YOU do custom white balance at weddings, or do you not at all?

Vail. I saw some of that webinar and it almost seemed like an infomercial for Expodisc. I was watching and thinking, this is fine for an engagement shoot or with models, but during a fast paced wedding, I can't see making time to pull that thing out repeatedly to lock WB. I have more than enough to do and I don't want to miss shots while fumbling with more gear. I completely agree with you on getting a B&G to hold the colour-checker or a grey card.

I honestly either set the camera to flash if I'm using strobes or AWB for most of the rest. I'll use gels at a reception to balance things if the light is fairly warm. The camera does a pretty good job most of the time and the times I have to use LR to make adjustments, isn't enough to make me change. I want to concentrate to making the shots, rather than fiddling with gear.

As for the exposure part, I don't get it. You're an experienced shooter and I've also be doing this a long time. Most of the time, I can estimate an exposure (I shoot manually most of the time) and with help from the camera's spot meter, again I just don't see taking an extra step for each shot. It interrupts the flow and creative process. Plus how does this thing help with exposures in a complex scene? If the foreground is dark and the the subject is backlit with a bright sky, an average reading from the disk would be useless in my opinion.

Oh I'll also add that I use hoods on all my lenses 100% of the time. I don't like filters and the hood offers 2 advantages. Prevents scratches to the front element and reduces flare, even from indoor lights. I would have to take 2 extra steps to remove the hood and re-install it each time the disk is used.

2 things about the disk.
1) There wil be hundreds of them for sale on Ebay in the next 6-12 months. Everybody went nuts and Expodisc sold out before the webinar was over. I would respectfully suggest that a lot of 'newbies' saw this as a device that would solve everything and when they find out it isn't the Holy Grail, they will be getting rid of them. Photographers are like golfers. Show us a toy that can solve some issue we didn't know we had and we want 2 (1 for backup in case we drive it into the woods).
2) Make your own to test it and see if this is something you would use and is of any value. Take 2 large (77mm +) filters that are too scratched to use any more and a coffee filter. Remove the glass from the filters (carefully) and put the coffee filter between the filter rings. Screw it together, trim excess filter paper. You now have an Expodisc that you can use on all your lenses. It doesn't have to screw on, just hold it over the front of the lens when you take the WB shot. It cost you nothing and works just the same.

Disclaimer: Expodisc will refute this claim and suggest the pixie dust in their glass works a miracle to make you a better photographer......

When the Expodisk came out years ago, it was marketed only for exposure, because it mimics the big dome on a handheld incident light meter. Does basically the same thing too. Then, when digitals came out, it was marketed primarily (or re-marketed) for white balance.

When I first got my DSLR, I monkeyed around with facsimiles of the Expodisk/others like it, namely--the free frosted plastic cap from a Pringles potato chip container. It actually works pretty well--perhaps a bit cool. I still have it too.

I realized a few things. First, as Peter says, even using it sparingly is a hassle, particularly if you are on the run/under the gun, which, at a wedding, is almost always. I use AWB all the time, except for heavily tungsten lighting, which (as Marc Williams has written about) can cause you to be fooled into underexposing. Most anything else, if you've exposed well, can be handled in post. It doesn't have to be time consuming either, if you work in batches.

The exposure part made no sense to me since I was using a handheld incident meter anyway. The exposure part of the Expodisk mimics using an incident meter. I won't go into how easy it actually is to use (the meter), because most people don't believe me. However, I recently stopped carrying the meter with me and instead, use my palm, or the spot meter in my camera (along with my brain).

Even though most of my exposures are within a reasonable range, I doubt that I'd ever be able to shoot everything so I didn't have any post work to do. I'm too picky for that. So I try to get close with exposure and work the white balance--all in batches. It doesn't take too long. I doubt using an Expodisk would make it faster.

I agree with Peter about how people will buy toys they think will solve their problem. I hope Expodisk paid the Grays well.

Vail,
I Never worried about that...I just balance in the post software. Every display is different...every print can vary across the spectrum so i don't pay for something i can't use. Remember we are analog creatures...with attenuation...and everyone's eye is different...so if your looking for a standard...in reality there is none...because your eye isn't a standard. Your eye can change even during the day....I use to go through this in the medical field, calibrating displays.

Remember that color is light dependent....and as light changes so does the color. If you print out an image...put it on the wall....all through the day those color will visual change and some people will see some whits as grays.

Just the nature of the beast....

Like Dave I don't worry about it. I set AWB, shoot RAW, and adjust in post as necessary. The advantage to this (I find) is that by forcing myself to handle 'problems' on a one by one basis, I tend to explore the 'creative' region a little more frequently.

It depends. If I walk into a place and I see horrid yellow lighting and the plan is to be in the place for a good amount of time then I'll use the Exposdisk to custom WB ambient then I'll gel the flash to match, using the LCD review to get it close. After that I shoot it RAW and deal with it in post. It is important to remove the gels when you're moving to different lighting.

I also do a custom WB for the formals. You're there, you're setting up, they're getting posed anyways. Shoot it RAW and you can change your mind later anyways.

But I should say that geling flash with a custom WB isn't the norm nor is it all that often.

If the balance is off, several shots will be off in order. I then go into Bride and select the images from the church and do a batch file adjusting all of the church shots at once. It would be a wicked pain to have to adjust each one. This way you can adjust all of them in just seconds. You have to keep your camera settings the same then deal with them in photoshop bridge.

Churches can kill you with the different light sources.

I tried using grey disc for a while but it doesn't work as well. Because many times you have two white balance setting in a single frame and the most important part is to get a pleasant white balance for the skin tone.

So now I don't worry about it, just shot RAW and WB in post. It has worked well for me and there's technically no one correct WB for any one shot. I like to get a little warmer WB for skin tone if I'm in doubt.

I eyeball the lighting and set the WB manually but when there is time I do a custom WB on a white balance target. I use one of those folding things that looks like a reflector - Lastolite makes the one I have. If I'd buy something different I would get a 4x6" whibal or similar product. Big enough so you could do a custom WB on it or place it in the scene or hold it in the frame and pick the WB in post - but small enough to chuck it in the bag. It's a piece of plastic so it seems indestructible too.

The expodisc does an average WB setting of everything in a 180 degree sphere around you. That's usually not what I want so the expodisc wouldn't be a good choice for me.

I haven't seen the webinar so I don't know how they used the expodisc but the lighting around us doesn't change all the time so there is no need to do a custom WB unless something has changed.