Three steps for a CUSTOM white balance

Shooting in raw mode means you can tweak the white balance afterwards in image-editing software – but why not save time and make it accurate in-camera with a manual approach?

Take a calibrated image

You’ll need a grey card or calibrated filter to take a reference shot and set your custom white balance. We used an ExpoDisc here, placing it over the front of the lens. The lens was pointed towards our subject, and we captured a shot with our intended settings. The reference image didn’t need to be sharp, so we used manual focus to stop the lens’ autofocus hunting.

Set custom mode

Setting your camera to Shade or Auto white balance might seem wise for snowy subjects, but this choice can often render scenes overly yellow and ruin an otherwise frosty atmosphere. (See the before and after examples above.) Instead, head to your camera’s shooting menu and set the white balance to Custom.

Use the reference shot

When you choose the Custom white balance, you’ll need to select your reference image (which should be a blank image). If you’ve used a grey card, the card should completely fill the frame of the shot. Remember to take another shot every time the light, subject or location changes, which will change your Custom white balance too.