How to Understand White Balance in Photography

Most amateur photographers have experienced the frustration of digital images that come out with a blue or orange cast. Digital cameras rely on white balance to produce images with true color. While auto settings usually work well, adjusting the white balance in your photography can lead to truer color in your final images.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Digital camera

1. Determine the type of light in the scene you are photographing. Indoor incandescent light tends to be more red or orange. Bright light outdoors, especially in snowy scenes, can tend toward blue tints. White balance settings in your camera will adjust for this natural shift in colors.

2. Compose a test shot. Use the auto white balance feature.

3. Determine how your camera handled the white balance. Look at the whitest part of your image and check to see if it is truly white. If it looks blue or yellow, you should adjust the white balance.

4. Adjust your camera settings to the type of light you are experiencing. There are often settings for indoor light, bright outdoor light, candlelight, snow, beach and florescent light. High-end cameras may have additional settings. Select the setting that matches your scene. This tells the camera how to shift the way it sees color to match the true color of what you are photographing.

5. Experiment with the RAW setting. Newer digital cameras and those designed for professional photographers allow you to shoot without any color correction or white balance settings at all. This can be particularly useful in shooting landscapes at dawn and dusk. It also allows you to understand what your camera is doing when it is adjusting white balance.