Should I turn on white balance?

Turning on white balance is almost always recommended for photography and videography. It helps your camera accurately capture the colors of a scene, ensuring that white objects appear white and other colors look natural under different lighting conditions. Without it, your photos can have an unwanted color cast.

What Exactly is White Balance and Why Does It Matter?

White balance (WB) is a camera setting that adjusts for color temperature to ensure that the white objects appear white. Different light sources emit light with different color temperatures, measured in Kelvin (K). For example, daylight is cooler (bluer), while incandescent light is warmer (yellower).

Your brain automatically adjusts to these color shifts. However, a camera’s sensor doesn’t have this innate ability. Without proper white balance, a photo taken under a warm incandescent bulb might look unnaturally yellow, or a shot taken under cool fluorescent lights could appear too blue.

How Does White Balance Work in Cameras?

Cameras use white balance to compensate for the color cast of the light source. They do this by essentially "telling" the camera what is white in the scene. By identifying a white or neutral gray object, the camera can then adjust its sensor’s sensitivity to different colors to neutralize any color imbalance.

Most modern cameras offer several automatic and preset white balance options. These presets are designed for common lighting situations like daylight, cloudy, shade, tungsten (incandescent), and fluorescent. There’s also often an "Auto White Balance" (AWB) mode.

Should You Use Auto White Balance (AWB)?

For most casual photographers and videographers, Auto White Balance (AWB) is a fantastic starting point. It’s designed to automatically detect the type of lighting and apply the appropriate correction. In many situations, AWB does an excellent job, saving you the hassle of manually adjusting settings.

However, AWB isn’t always perfect. It can sometimes be fooled by mixed lighting conditions or scenes where the dominant color isn’t neutral. In these cases, colors might still appear slightly off.

When Might AWB Not Be Ideal?

Mixed Lighting: If you have both daylight and artificial light in the same shot, AWB can struggle to find a consistent balance.
Strong Color Casts: Scenes with a lot of a particular color (like a sunset or a room with colored walls) can sometimes trick AWB into misinterpreting the overall color temperature.
Creative Intent: Sometimes, you might want to intentionally exaggerate the warmth or coolness of a scene for artistic effect. AWB will try to neutralize this.

Manual White Balance Settings: When and How?

When AWB doesn’t give you the results you want, or if you need precise control, using manual white balance settings is the way to go. This involves either selecting a specific preset or using a custom white balance.

Preset White Balance Options

Your camera likely has several presets. Understanding what they do is key:

Daylight: For bright, sunny conditions (around 5200K).
Cloudy: For overcast days, which have a bluer cast (around 6000K).
Shade: For subjects in shadow, which are even bluer (around 7000K).
Tungsten/Incandescent: For indoor lights, which are very warm/yellow (around 3200K).
Fluorescent: For fluorescent tubes, which can have a greenish cast (various settings available).
Flash: For the color temperature of a camera’s flash.

Custom White Balance: The Most Accurate Method

For the most accurate results, especially in challenging lighting, a custom white balance is your best bet. This involves taking a photo of a pure white or neutral gray card under the exact lighting conditions you’ll be shooting in. You then tell your camera to use that reference.

Steps for Custom White Balance:

Place a white or neutral gray card in your scene, ensuring it’s evenly lit.
Take a photo of the card.
Navigate your camera’s menu to the custom white balance setting.
Select the photo you just took as your reference.
Your camera will now use this as its "true white" for all subsequent shots until you change it.

This method guarantees that your colors will be accurate for that specific lighting environment.

RAW vs. JPEG and White Balance

The file format you shoot in significantly impacts your white balance flexibility.

JPEG: When you shoot in JPEG, the white balance setting is "baked in" to the image data. While you can make minor adjustments later in editing software, significant changes can degrade image quality.
RAW: Shooting in RAW format is like having a digital negative. The white balance setting is recorded as metadata, but it doesn’t permanently alter the image data. This means you can adjust the white balance to a much greater extent in post-processing without losing quality, making it the preferred choice for serious photographers.

Practical Examples of White Balance in Action

Imagine you’re photographing a wedding reception. The venue has warm incandescent chandeliers, but there are also windows letting in cooler evening light.

If you use AWB, the camera might try to average the two, resulting in unnatural skin tones.
If you choose a preset like "Tungsten," the daylight from the windows will look very blue.
By using a custom white balance taken under the chandeliers, you’ll get accurate colors for the main reception area. You might then need to adjust slightly for shots near the windows or shoot in RAW to correct them later.

Another example: shooting product photos indoors under fluorescent lights. Fluorescent lights often have a greenish tint. AWB might struggle, but selecting the "Fluorescent" preset or using a custom WB will neutralize that green cast, making your products look true to color.

Tips for Mastering White Balance

Shoot in RAW: This gives you the most flexibility in post-processing.
Understand Your Light: Pay attention to the color of the light source. Is it warm, cool, or something else?
Use a Gray Card: For critical work, a neutral gray card is invaluable for custom white balance.
Check Your LCD: Review your images on your camera’s LCD screen, but be aware that the screen’s brightness and color can be misleading.
Experiment: Don’t be afraid to try different presets or even manually adjust the Kelvin temperature if your camera allows.