PHOTO TIP: White Balance (Color Balance)

We’ve all had those photos that just seemed to be missing that “pop.” The sunset photo that wasn’t as red as your memory served. The lush, green forest that looked a bit gray in your image. Your hiking buddy’s face looking blue and pasty on that rainy day. Well, okay maybe that was because it was cold, but flat color or color that was just not quite right can spoil an otherwise great shot.

Realizing the basic use of the white balance settings on your new digital camera will offer one step toward creating better images. Film photographers did not have this wonderful feature as film had a “fixed” color balance — daylight color at about 5600 degrees on the Kelvin scale. In order to adjust for different types of light (incandescent, cloudy days, etc.), film users required an array of filters in different sizes for their many lenses. Now with digital, it is just a matter of changing a menu setting to get better color!

First, a brief explanation of how color and white balance actually “work.” White light is a mixture of all colors, or specifically Red-Green-Blue (RGB). As red is removed, green and blue appear–making cyan. If green is removed some shade of magenta (or purple) is added… and so on. So how does the automatic white balance (AWB) in the camera work? In very basic terms, the cameras white sensor determines a mixture of all light in the scene, finds a point that it perceives should be white and tries to remove the over-abundance of other color(s) to “balance” the scene to make that point white. It is more involved than that, but that should paint a basic picture for you.

So what if there is no true “white point” in the scene? Well, that’s when we run into problems. Unfortunately, this happens more often than not and most people never realize it. Think of all the images you have taken… sunsets/sunrises, cloudy/foggy days. autumn leaves, green leaves, purple flowers, etc., etc. Every one of these scenes will throw off the AWB sensor!

So how do we “fix” this? Quite simple actually. First, however, you must make sure that your are NOT using the camera in the PHD mode (Press Here Dummy mode). All cameras have this mode. On Canon’s dial it is represented with a green box. Nikon uses a green camera icon, Panasonic a red camera icon and Pentax uses a green smiley face. Instead, use the “P” mode if you camera has it, or whichever icon represents the mode which offers the user the *option* to manually over-ride functions. No need to use a full manual mode, the other features can still be set automatically by the camera if you prefer. (We’ll talk about other settings in the future.)

Now, find the white balance settings in your camera. Most cameras make you search through the menu, some (most SLRs) have a button with WB next to it to make it easier. Canon Powershots put the WB setting on the “Functions” menu button. (Look up White Balance in your instruction book to learn more!) From these menus, you will have many choices of optional white balance settings… most of which are easily understood from their picture icon.

 5600K – Full Sunlight used for sunny days

32ooK – Tungsten or Incandescent / Household light bulb

4800K – Cloudy, foggy or rainy days

Okay… but what do these settings actually do?

The “SUN” setting is meant for images shot in full sun with few clouds. Great for sunrise/sunset images. Since the camera’s sensor will read sunsets as too red and is designed to “fix” the problem in AWB your shots will have less red in them. Using the SUN setting you will no longer remove the red tones giving you the color saturation you expect.

The “LIGHTBULB” setting is used to correct for the very warm or orange tones of artificial light. Used for those times when flash is not wanted or not allowed: weddings, museums, etc. (Note: There is usually a specific florescent light setting as well.)

The “CLOUD” setting is my personal favorite, and what I typical keep my camera set on as my default mode. I will reset my camera for other conditions (tungsten for instance), but I definitely prefer this setting for most of my photography. The CLOUD setting offer a -slight- warming effect. Water (of which clouds, fog, etc. is made) removes or filters the reds and yellows from light allowing mostly the blue light to get through. The CLOUD setting re-introduces the red and yellow (or warm tones) back into the image.

So why do I use it most of the time? I am usually shooting under at least some clouds or in extreme humidity (water vapor) as well as in other conditions where dominant colors –green shadowy forests for example– also remove the warm tones. Even if I am photographing friends and family at the beach under a clear blue sky, I use the CLOUD setting to remove the bluish reflection of the sky from skin tones offering a tanning effect. Your friends will appreciate that!

The image on the left was taken using AWB. Notice how the ferns appear gray. The image on the right was taken with the SUN setting. The ferns are green and the light on the trees golden, just as I remembered it! So practice with your white balance settings and find your preferences using your particular camera which may differ from mine.