WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WHITE BALANCE & WHY DOES IT MATTER?

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VS

SEE THINGS DIFFERENTY

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1DSLRS and Video Cameras do not see the same way that the human eye does

Our eyes can adjust the colors of what we are looking at by the light. Cameras try, and sometimes succeed in producing the right color in AWB (auto white balance) but most of the times they FAIL.

White Balance Definition2

White balance adjust the colors of the scene

Why do you want to manually set your WB?

@campbellcameras

AWB can create unsightly blue, orange, or even green color casts

1Gives you creative control over the look and feel of your image or video.

2

Photo Credit: NikonUSA

BUT.... YOU MAY WANT TO CHANGE THE LOOK....

Too Orange

Too Blue

Understanding Color Temperature3

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1000-2000 K

2500-3500 K

Candlelight

Tungsten Bulb(household)

3000-4000 K

A clear sunrise/sunset

4000-5000 K

Fluorescent Lamps

5000-5500 K

Electronic Flash

5000 - 6500K

Daylight with Clear Sky (sun

overhead)

Moderately Overcast

Sky

6500-8000 K

Shade or Heavily Overcast Sky

9000-10000 K

Color Temperature Effect4

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Took the same subject, set the white balance to the following temperatures. Notice how much white balance effects the look and feel of the image. This was shot outside on an cloudy day.

2500 K 2800 K 3050 K 3350 K 3850 K 4050 K

4450 K 4750 K 5550 K 5900 K 6150K 6200 K

6650 K 7250 K 8000 K

Correct Natural Exposure for this

image.

White Balance Settings5

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These are your typical white balance options on most cameras

Incandescent setting is best for traditional household bulbs.

Fluorescent will prevent the green cast common to photos taken in fluorescent light.

Cloudy will add a bit of warmth to the light.

Flash adds a more aggress touch of warmth to take the edge off the birght light of a flash.

Shade adds a slight pink tone to eliminate the blue cast that shadows take.

Sunny/ daylight sets the color temperature to around 5000k, which is your typical mid-day sun

In Auto setting the camera will read the scene’s color temperature (basically the hue and intensity of a particular light source, measured in degrees Kelvin) and choose a setting from its collection of pre-programmed adjustments.

Custom Temperature is a do-it-yourself choice, in which you actually set the degrees Kelvin to affect how the camera will see and render the hue and intensity of colors in the scene. Using the Kelvin setting you can fine tune those colors to your definition of “accurate,” or skew the colors to reflect your choice of the scene’s mood and feeling.

Custom White Balance - With that option selected, hold a white card or pure white object in front of the lens and press the shutter button. The camera will read and lock in the color temperature of the light reflected from that card, and that locked-in reading now becomes the standard for the camera’s white balance setting. Custom WB is an ideal way to handle a scene that presents mixed lighting—fluorescent lights in the ceiling and daylight streaming through a window, for example—because it takes into account all the lighting in the scene.

How To Set Custom WB5

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Have a White Card, computer paper, or anything pure white.

1 Go to your WB settings in your camera and select Custom WB

2

The usual symbol

Place the white object in your shot and have it cover the entire framein your camera. When you press the shutter button it locks the WB.

3

THE END

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