DSLR Guide 6 - White Balance
In this guide, we look at how to make the colours in your photos match the colours you see.
Before you start reading, please find your camera’s manual and have it handy - like it or not, you will have to refer to it!
Unfortunately this isn’t a very easy subject to illustrate - you’ll get a better idea by just taking a load of pictures and seeing the difference a change in white balance setting makes.
The human brain is an incredibly sophisticated device which includes the ability to make whites look white regardless of the colour of the light source. If you barely understood that sentence you’ll have an idea of just how impressive that process is!
Although you don’t notice it, different lighting sources have different colour casts. For example, daylight at noon is quite blue, while household lighting has a strong orange cast. Your brain is able to recognise what colour things really are, but your camera may sometimes need to be told.
When you shot on film, the chances are that you used a film which was intended for use outdoors (known as daylight-balanced film), which is why some of the photos you took indoors may have looked a bit orange. Films were also available for various forms of artificial light, but digital cameras go one step further. They allow you to tell the camera what kind of light you’re shooting under and let it compensate for that difference.
Here’s where you seek out your camera manual and find out how to change the white balance setting on your camera...
Auto
Great for situations with more than one light source or when you only have time to point and shoot. This setting attempts to create an image with no obvious colour cast, but for creative purposes you may want to make the picture look warmer or colder than it really is.
Pre-set White Balance
You’ll probably find a number of different pre-sets available on your camera. They may vary, but here are some of the common pre-sets.
Incandescent: For use under tungsten lighting (ie. normal household bulbs)
Fluorescent: For use under fluorescent lighting (ie. kitchen tubes)
Direct Sunlight: For use under bright, natural light
Cloudy: For use under overcast skies
Shade: For use in full shade
Flash: For use with flash lighting
Custom Pre-Set
This option gives you complete control over the white balance. To use it, most DSLRs require you to choose this option in the menu, then point the camera at something white (or 18% grey)and press the shutter release. For this reason, it’s useful to carry something white in your camera bag. I have a small reflector which I use for this, and also a fold-away grey card (free with Amateur Photographer a few months back!).
If you use this option, you need to remember to take another reading each time the lighting changes - when there’s a bit more cloud, or if the sun has started to set, for example. Although this is the most accurate white balance reading you can get, the need to keep a constant eye on the conditions may prove too much hassle for many people.
Using White Balance creatively
Just because the Direct Sunlight option is the ‘right’ one for a bright day on the beach, doesn’t mean it necessarily produces the most pleasing image. Using the Cloudy setting has the effect of ‘warming up’ an image like this by adding a little bit of orange. If you find that your beach portraits are looking a little bit ‘cold’ or blue, try switching to the Cloudy setting and see what happens.
Put it back the way you found it
As I mentioned in the second DSLR Guide instalment, whatever you do, when you’ve finished shooting under one set of lighting conditions, don’t forget to switch it back to Auto. That way you won’t end up accidentally turning a load of sunset pictures blue!
This shows the effect the wrong white balance setting can have on your pictures. These were all taken in natural light from a window.
The RAW advantage
If you shoot RAW files, you can adjust the white balance in the editing stage. It’s obviously still best to get a reasonable white balance while you’re shooting, but RAW will give you the ability to correct or fine-tune it to give a different effect.
Monday, 3 July 2006
Techniques, tips and tricks to help you take better pictures.
