White balance: get natural colors under any light
White balance removes color casts from tungsten bulbs, shade and mixed light. Learn the presets, Kelvin values and when to fix it later.
Different light sources have different colors. Candlelight is orange, midday sun is neutral and open shade is blue. Our eyes adjust automatically; cameras need white balance to do the same.
Auto white balance
Auto white balance is good in most daylight scenes. It struggles with strongly colored light, like warm restaurant bulbs or the orange glow of street lamps, and it can shift between shots in a series.
Presets and Kelvin
Presets like daylight, shade, cloudy and tungsten are shortcuts for color temperature in Kelvin. Setting Kelvin manually gives consistency: about 5600K for daylight, 3200K for tungsten and 6500K to 7500K for shade.
Custom white balance
For product photography or interiors, photograph a gray card under your light and set a custom white balance. It is the fastest way to accurate color.
Mixed light
Interiors in Mérida often mix blue window light with warm bulbs. Choose which source should look neutral, usually the window, and either turn off the bulbs or accept a warm glow. Real estate photographers often fix mixed light in editing by blending.
Shoot RAW
In RAW, white balance can be changed later without quality loss. Still, getting it close in camera makes reviewing and client previews easier.
