The white stuff How do I know which white balance setting I should use for an image?
I think this is very much a question of what you want your images to look like, Reece. While there are very obvious and well-documented ways that white balance can get messed up – such as indoors with mixed artificial lighting – on the whole, using Auto WB will give you perfectly reasonable results.
If you are shooting raw files, adjusting white balance is pretty straighforward in your chosen software. Even with JPEGs, these days you can go a long way to correct any white balance issue. For example, you can load a JPEG into Lightroom and use either the white eyedropper tool or the Temperature slider to introduce some pretty dramatic colour shifts.
You can set a custom white balance within your digital SLR, but if you want an easier solution, then simply experiment with the different white balance presets offered To convert a digital SLR to IR, an internal filter that normally blocks IR light is removed and replaced with a special IR filter that allows infrared light to be captured on the camera’s sensor. IR conversion is something that should only be attempted by experts, but there are many places that offer it at a fairly reasonable cost. An IR-converted SLR is really easy to use, as you still get a normal view through the viewfinder for composing and focusing. by your camera. Really you’re looking for a colour temperature that best captures the scene you saw in the first place, although there will be many occasions when you want to warm a photo up, or perhaps cool it down for creative reasons.
When you are shooting portraits, then you’ll probably want to make sure that the skin tone looks natural. The same can be said for landscapes where, depending on the conditions, you will be looking for a white balance that looks right within the context of the scene. If you’re correcting the white balance and the scene then makes you feel uncomfortable, trust your instincts and adjust it again until you find a colour temperature that works.
Sometimes you will come across images where it’s difficult to judge what the correct white balance is. Then it’s just a case of you making that creative decision on what you When you first see the image in your LCD panel, it has a strong red colour cast to it. Foliage will appear white and frost-like while other non-IR reflecting objects will appear relatively normal. You can choose to shoot either JPEG or raw files: either can be processed to achieve the final look. You’ll need normal post-processing software to change your red-tinted file into either an IR black-and-white or IR false-colour image, but neither process is particularly difficult. The look you get with the right subject certainly adds a new creative twist to your images.
your questions answered want it to be. For this water droplet shot taken on the hood of a black car illuminated by evening light, I found it hard to decide what the ‘correct’ temperature of the shot should be. Auto WB has done its best but either white balance preset – Cloudy or Tungsten – works OK. I think I prefer Cloudy because it feels warmer, but it’s all a matter of personal taste.