White Balance and How It WorksOn our while balance page you can use the Google translation option to review this page in the language of your choice. Then, if you are looking for any related issues you can also search the web using this Google search facility.
Almost 95% of the time, our students have simply left their camera set to Auto because it seemed to work and it was one more thing they did not have to think about or remember to change when out taking pictures. I have to admit that sometimes I am guilty of doing the same thing, only sometimes it is compounded when I have changed the setting for a specific subject and then a day or two later when I am out shooting something else. I have conveniently forgotten that it was set for that other subject. Fortunately for the LCD screen on the back of the camera, I look at the image and ask myself “What, why does it look like that?” Then I remember to adjust the white balance to better suit my new subject. Of course I could say to myself “no problem leaving it, I can always fix it later in Photoshop”. But that is the wrong attitude because it simply adds to the work. In our photography classes, we found the best way to explain white balance is to show by example, i.e., here is what happens when you use each of the different settings. As part of the class’s homework, we ask them to pick a subject and shoot one image of that subject for each of the different settings. Then examine the results and decide for themselves which images they like the best. We do this because not everyone shares the same opinion as to which image looks the best or which image is the “perfect” image. We urge you to try this exercise for multiple reasons:
ScenariosHere is a list of scenarios you should experiment:
In all cases, make sure you bring along the tools to make note of what you have tried. These scenarios will produce some interesting results that will help guide you for when you should change the white balance setting. For those of you who are interested in more technical details regarding WB, how it works, when to use it, and some great examples, etc. Here are a couple of websites you should visit. Ken RockwellIn this website Ken provides a simple explanation of what is white balance and how it works. He also provides some great examples of using the different WB settings on your camera and he tells you why the setting was the best for that specific shot. Make sure you also go to his Explicit Examples page. Read more...Cambridge in ColorThis website has a very good tutorial that explains in more technical detail what WB means and its impact. It also has a table showing the various settings on some of the digital cameras for those of you who may be unsure of what they are looking for on their camera. Read more...Contact UsIf you have any questions, want to learn more about WB, or if you have some specific scenarios and examples you would like to review with us, please do not hesitate to Contact Us.Contribute Additional White Blance Information?
Do you have additional while balance information you would like to share with us? Or perhaps you examples of "how to" use the white balance feature on your specific model of digital camera? Leaving white balance to return to photogrpahy techniques. New! CommentsHave your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below. |
