CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE

Produce correct colours in images shot under mixed lighting conditions

Mixed lighting

This location’s mixture of sunshine and dark shadows is a challenge for the camera’s AWB setting. Shadows have a cooler (bluer) light than areas in direct sunlight, and after AWB has cooled down the image to produce accurate colours in the sunlit areas the colder shadows look too blue.

Banish the blues

Click the white balance icon in the Edit pane to open the White Balance pane. Select the Gray Point Sample tool, and click on an area that should be white or grey (such as the flagpole in our church scene). This warms up the image to correct the cool blue cast and produce neutral whites.

Get the balance right

Now that we’ve warmed up the cold shadows the warmer sunlit areas look too orange. Drag the Fine Adjustment slider left to cool down the image overall – you need to find the right balance, cooling down the warm oranges but without making the shadows look too cold.