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Ever wondered why your subjects turn yellow while photographing in an indoor environments? Or why would your camera flash blue on them? In digital photography, knowing the principle of white balance deeply and how it works is very important because setting it incorrectly could ruin an image, adding all sorts of unnecessary color casts and making skin tones look very unnatural.
In this article, I’ll clarify how to adapt it to your camera or post-production
What is White Balance? The definition
White balance means adjusting colors to make the image look natural. We go through the process of changing colors to remove mainly color casts to align the picture with what we saw when we took it.
Why do we do this? Since most light sources (sun, light bulbs, flashlights, etc.) do not emit white color and have a “color temperature” The human brain processes information from our eyes and adjusts the color temperature automatically, so we normally see the colors correctly. If you took a white sheet of paper and looked outside, it would most definitely look white as if you were looking inside.
But what most people don’t realize is that there’s a huge difference in color temperature between bright sunlight and tungsten light indoors.
Why is white balance important in photography?
White balance is a camera setting that determines how colors are captured in various light forms. … Temperatures vary from cold (blue) to warm (orange). Using the right white balance setting will remove unwanted color casts that can ruin your image, rendering it unnatural.
Here is an example of both correct and incorrect White Balance:
As you can see, the image above, on the left feels more natural tones look correct, while the image on the right is too yellow. The second image clearly needs its white balance adjusted to eliminate the yellow tones. Here’s another example
Is white balance the same as exposure?
White balance and exposure are completely different. You may have a perfectly exposed image, but you still have a poorly balanced image. And you can have a well-balanced, white image, but still have a poorly exposed image. Consider e.g. a white card photo.
Does white balance affect exposure?
One common misconception is that white balance affects visibility. Decisions are taken using raw camera sensor data, and then the WB does not affect the exposure. Your camera automatically sets right exposure. White Balance can affect exposure when shooting in RAW.
Color Temperature and its Measurement, explained
What is Color temperature? Color temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) units, a physical property of light. There is a broad margin for variation between different light sources, even though they seem exactly the same. For example, maybe you were in a room with rows of overhead fluorescent lights and noticed that some bulbs were a slightly different color than others. Maybe they were older or a different brand of bulbs, but no matter why, they had different color temperatures than the other bulbs. Similarly, at midday, sunlight can have different color temperatures than at sunset.
Neutral color temperature (sunlight at noon) about 5200-6000 K. You’ll find most external flash units in that range from the factory, which means they’re essentially trying to mimic sunlight. An incandescent light bulb (warm / orange) has a color temperature of around 3000 K, while color temperature (cool / blue) is around 8000 K. Here’s a map that shows you a few different light sources and standard Kelvin measurement range:
Different light sources have different color temperatures. In Kelvin, these color temperatures are measured and you most frequently see anything like “5,500 K,” normal daylight.
See the following sample chart showing estimated Kelvin colors and values:
| Light Type | Color Temperature in Kelvin (K) |
| Candle Flame | 1,000 to 2,000 |
| Household Lighting | 2,500 to 3,500 |
| Sunrise and Sunset | 3,000 to 4,000 |
| Sunlight and Flash | 5,000 to 6,000 |
| Noon Sun and Clear Sky | 6,000 to 6,500 |
| Cloudy Sky and Shades | 6,500 to 8,000 |
| Heavily Overcast Sky | 9,000 to 10,000 |
If your camera is set to “Auto White Balance,” you can try to estimate the Kelvin value based on a white object as a reference point. For example, white clouds in a scene are used as a white reference point and the rest of the colors are based on this reference color. This form of calculation will not always produce good results, particularly if the scene you’re photographing doesn’t contain pure white colors or is dominated by one color. Therefore, you can need to manually set the right White Balance on your camera or during post-processing.
Note that the cooler the light, the higher the number. The warmer the light, the lower the number.
How do you use Kelvin white balance?
When you identify the room temperature, it’s time to calibrate your camera’s white balance using the Kelvin setting on your AWB menu. Scroll through the various icons on your AWB menu until you hit the K and choose the right color temperature for your picture conditions.
Changing WB in Camera vs In Post-Processing?
One of the best things about digital photography is that we don’t have to use white cards and cast-removing filters to get specific colors. When shooting in RAW format, the RAW picture can be transformed to any white balance, since this detail is only saved as a guide and the camera remains unchanged and unprocessed.
This means that while shooting in RAW, you can simply disregard settings and shoot in any WB mode. I still set my camera to “Auto White Balance” and let the camera guess what the right colors are. If my camera can not guess the right white balance, I simply adjust it in Lightroom and I can copy-paste as many pictures as I like. So, if your camera is set to shoot RAW, just set it to Auto White Balance and you’re good to go. This is one of the advantages of shooting RAW, and you can read about other RAW format advantages in my RAW vs JPEG post.
What if you don’t use RAW and shoot JPEGs? Then you need to learn how to use white cards to change your camera’s white balance. Again, in certain situations, the camera will make a pretty good approximation of color temperatures, but there will be instances where lighting conditions will confuse the camera and give you bad colors. That’s when you need a manual camera shift.
Does white balance affect raw?
White balance matters if shooting raw? The response is: no. When you set your camera’s white balance (or leave it to the camera), whatever white balance added to the final image is just for display purposes on your camera’s LCD (and if you also save JPEG with your raw file).
How to Change White Balance in Camera
The digital camera’s method of adjusting the white balance varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model. For example, most Nikon professional cameras like Nikon D300s / D700 / D3s have a dedicated “WB” button on the top dial, while cameras like Nikon D90 have a “WB” button on the camera back near the LCD screen.
So, just hold the WB button with one hand to adjust it, then rotate the rear dial counter-clockwise. All current Nikon DSLRs allow you to adjust white balance by setting a menu. If you can’t find the setting in your camera for whatever reason, I highly recommend reading the owner’s manual, it should clearly state where you can adjust it.
Manual White Balance Adjustments
Using the pre-set white balance modes, you can get a pretty accurate result in most cases – but some digital cameras (most DSLRs and higher endpoints and shoots) also allow manual white balance adjustments.
The way this is used differs slightly between models, but in essence what you’re doing is asking your camera what white looks like in a shot so it has something as a reference point to determine how other colors might look. You can do this by purchasing a white (or gray) card specifically designed for this mission, or you can find some other properly colored object around you to do the job.
This manual adjustment isn’t difficult to do once you find your camera’s menu where to do it, and it’s worth learning how to do it.
What white balance should I use?
These are the white balance settings you can choose from: Auto White Balance: Nice if you don’t know what you’re doing. It functions in sunlight but is unfit for most conditions. Daylight: Auto white balance mode in daylight, but not full.
White Balance Presets
Most current DSLR and point-and – shoot cameras have white balance presets set by the manufacturer to a certain Kelvin number. These presets also differ from manufacturer to camera model.
Since each camera is slightly different from the next, to find out how to change your camera’s white balance, you’ll need to review your camera’s owner’s manual.
What are the different white balance settings?
Correct color rendition will require manual white balance setting. Those settings are incandescent, fluorescent, flash, cloudy, open shade, sunny, color temperature and other presets.
The easiest way to get the right white balance is by setting “Preset (PRE). Hold a white card before the camera lens and push the shutter button. The camera will then read and use the right light color temperature reflected from the white card.
How to Change White Balance in Lightroom?
Changing white balance presets in Lightroom is simple. In the “Library”, J
just look at the right panel and select a preset from the “White Balance” drop-down under “Quick Develop” menu setting as shown below:
You can also change Lightroom color temperature and tint. Switch to “Create” module and look under “Basic” menu. You can type in temperature / tint or shift it with a mouse:
Conclusion
While shooting in RAW, knowing the color temperature of different light sources is not that important. Most photographers should simply understand the basic color temperature principle. Knowing how and when to change the white balance is critical, either in camera before creating an image or in post processing software after creating an image.
Matter of fact, changing white balance in post-processing is always the best option for beginner photographers, as it eliminates the need to think about white balance from the field process.
Once you’re comfortable changing your photos’ white balance, you can start using white balance creatively in your photos, either warming them up or cooling them down to change the whole scene’s feel. Although that’s not something we’ll go through right now, keep an eye out for a potential article on innovative use of white balance.
FAQs
How do I fix white balance on my camera?
Your white balance setting can be accessed either from your camera’s menu system or from a dedicated button on the body of your camera named “WB.” Keep it down / press and scroll through the numerous icons depicting different lighting situations.
Should I use auto white balance?
For most pictures, auto white balance works in common or regular circumstances. Most people’s atmosphere is perfect. But if a correct color is really necessary and crucial, a fixed white balance setting could be much better. I can advise for landscape photography. But event photography, or wedding photography, can also benefit.
What is the best white balance for night shots?
White Balancing for Night Photography: Daylight (~5200 K) is almost always too warm for night sky images, but I also find this the most convenient “general” environment to use when shooting in RAW. Astrophotos typically use cooler settings between 3200-4800, depending on position and climate.