I am going to be brutally honest with you... For the longest time I never paid any attention to White Balance. It was something I thought didn't matter too much when it came to my pictures. I was wrong. Once I took the time to learn and read about white balance, and then put that knowledge to use, my pictures started improving a lot. White balance is part of the whole picture (no pun intended) when it comes to photography, mastering it along with all the other elements is essential in taking good pictures.
So...What is white balance?
"White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo." - Cambridge In Color
In your DSLR, you will find 7 different white balance settings. Each one has a specific purpose in adding proper color to your photos.
Auto : This is the setting that allows your camera to choose your white balance for you. Although the simple choice, it is not always the right choice. I will explain this in more detail later.
Tungsten: This setting is most suitable for shooting indoors. I actually use this setting when I photograph Christmas lights inside my home. It tends to cool down your photo's and makes lights look really nice in your photography.
Flourescent: Indoor lighting is usually fluorescent and gives off a cool tone to your photos. When used, this setting will add some warmth back into your photos when photographing indoors.
Daylight / Sunny: Most basic form of white balance, used best when shooting outside in sunlight. Adds a bit more cool tones, but not by a lot.
Cloudy: Similar to daylight, but will add more warmth back into your photos. Great for cloudy days that tend to give off more cool tones.
Flash: I recently learned to use this setting whenever using a flash as it adds in warmth that a flash can take away from a photo. Flashes give cool lighting, to eliminate, use this setting for a good balance of warm and cool tones.
Shade: Again, with no sunlight, your photo will tend to have cooler tones. This setting will add warmth back into the shaded photo.
As you can see, all of the above settings will add a certain amount of coolness or warmth into your photos. Knowing what kind of tones your light gives off, you will need to counteract by changing your white balance setting so that you are having even tones in your photographs.
Using A White Balance Grey Card
A great technique you can use post processing to ensure your white balance is 100% accuracy, would be to use a grey card. You can purchase one online for a cheap price, or even use a piece of grey scrap booking paper (just make sure its not reflective or shiny).
What you do, is take a test shot of your subject while holding a grey card in the photo. Repeat this each time your subject, scenery, or lighting changes.
Bring the photo with your grey card up in your post processing program. (This will work with professional processing programs such as adobe lightroom, photoshop, raw etc. It will also work with any processing program that has a white balance tool.)
Click on your white balance tool, and then click on the grey card in your photo. This will automatically adjust your white balance settings so they are accurate for each photo.
This is a great method because you dont need to worry about adjusting your white balance settings on your camera each time your lighting situation changes. Just take a new test shot with the grey card in the
photo, and adjust later during your post processing.
Any questions? Feel free to email me, and I would be happy to help!
Make sure to check out these great articles for more help as well :)
Digital Photography School: Get Your White Balance Right In Seconds Using A Grey Card.
Cambridge In Color: Understanding White Balance
Digital Photography School: Introduction To White Balance
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