White Balance in Photography

Adjusting the white balance of digital photographs is the process in which the color balance is corrected. In other words, it is responsible to make the colors as equal as possible to reality. This is done by removing any color bias resulted from the usage of a certain light source.

An incorrect white balance will result in a yellow or blue cast over the whole colors of the photo. The type of the color distortion depends on the light source in use when the photograph was taken. Incandescent light as well as the sun tend to produce a yellowish image due to their low color temperature, while clouds and fluorescent lights produce a blueish image due to their higher color temperatures.

Using automatic white balancing is sometimes the cause of this problem. While it may work well in the outdoors, the results are not as good when you get inside. And since it tries to guess the color cast, the balanced colors are not usually the best. This is because the objects inside a photograph may confuse the guessing algorithm. For instance, if a photograph is mostly composed red objects, the automatic white balancer will try to compensate adding blue; thus, a blue cast is formed.

The camera doesn’t recognize the different light sources. The automatic white balance acts indifferently with all photos. This is the main reason we may need preset white balance settings. These preset settings correct the colors based on the color temperature of the specified light source. Most digital cameras come with preset white balance options, and they are usually preferred in certain condition when the automatic white balance fails to give acceptable results.

The preset white balance options arranged in ascending order according to the color temperature are Tungsten, Fluorescent, Daylight, Clouds, and Shade. Despite the names, these settings are far from giving an optimum color balance too, but still, they can be used to tune it. Preset white balance intended for light sources with hight temperatures can be used to make a photographer warmer. The same goes to the other way around with settings of low temperatures sources making the photos cooler..

A custom white balance mode, if available, is the best way to get optimum results using your camera by just pointing it to a neutrally colored surface. In advanced camera which support RAW formats, the white balance settings can be adjusted later using special software.

While using the correct white balance is usually desired, deliberately cooling or warming your images may sometimes yield nice effects too. Doing so, you will be able to change the mood of your picture instantly. So, give it a try.

Get more info and your free ebook at CanvasPrintsOnline.