Beginner basics – What is white balance in photography?
LEAD PHOTO Photo by Smart on Unsplash
Capturing images with accurate colors and tones is essential for creating stunning and visually appealing photographs. One crucial element that helps achieve this is white balance. In this article, we will explore the concept of white balance, its importance, and how it can elevate your photography skills.
Photo by Kane Reinholdtsen on Unsplash
Explaining White Balance
White balance refers to the process of adjusting the colors in a photograph to ensure that whites appear truly white, regardless of the lighting conditions. Different light sources emit varying color temperatures, which can distort the colors in your images. The human eye adapts to these color shifts effortlessly, but cameras need assistance to reproduce colors accurately. Different times of the day or even seasons, as well as natural light compared to artificial light can produce different qualities and colors of light.
Colour Temperature and Kelvin Scale
The colour temperature of light is measured in Kelvin (K). Higher Kelvin values indicate cooler tones (such as blue), while lower values represent warmer tones (such as orange or red). For instance, daylight has a higher colour temperature, around 5500K-6500K, resulting in cooler tones, while incandescent light produces a lower colour temperature, around 2500K-3200K, resulting in warmer tones.
White Balance Presets
To help photographers achieve accurate colors in different lighting conditions, cameras provide several white balance presets, such as Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, and Flash. These presets adjust the camera’s settings to compensate for the color temperature of the light source. For example, selecting the “Tungsten” preset when shooting indoors under tungsten lighting will counterbalance the warm orange cast and restore more natural-looking colors.
Custom White Balance
In situations where the available presets may not accurately represent the lighting conditions, photographers can create a custom white balance. This involves capturing a reference image of a white or neutral gray object under the same lighting conditions as the scene. The camera uses this reference image to determine the exact color temperature of the light source and make the necessary adjustments to achieve accurate colors.
Post-Processing and White Balance
Setting white balance in Lightroom
White balance adjustments can also be made during post-processing using photo editing software. Most editing applications provide tools to fine-tune the white balance, such as sliders or droppers. This flexibility allows photographers to correct any color casts or enhance the mood of an image by deliberately adjusting the white balance, particularly if you are capturing your images as raw files.
So what white balance should you use?
You can change your white balance in the camera to suit the environment you are photographing, you could also leave it on Auto white balance (WB)and adjust it in post-processing. You can choose a preferred Kelvin and stick with that (I am quite partial to 5600K). If you are new to photography and find the exposure triangle enough to deal with I suggest leaving the WB on Auto until you get more familiar with all your settings.
A final word
Understanding and utilizing white balance is vital for photographers seeking to capture images with accurate and appealing colors. Whether through camera presets or custom adjustments in post-processing, mastering white balance empowers photographers to unleash their creative potential and bring their images to life. So, grab your camera and explore the world of white balance to enhance your photography skills!
