Digital Photography: Behind the Lens: White Balance

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This is a new series of posts I will be doing talking about digital photography – maybe it will not be news to you, but I think even old dogs can learn new tricks.  I’d love to have your input about whether you are enjoying this new series, things you think I might have missed on a topic, and what digital photography topics you’d like to see in the future.

And now, on to white balance.  What is white balance?  Just in a nutshell, it is the way that the camera perceives the light that it sees.  Unlike your eyes, which naturally adjust their vision based on the type of light you view, a camera can’t tell when it’s seeing light from tungsten bulbs or when it’s viewing an outdoor scene.  So we have to adjust the camera’s vision to as true a vision as we see.  In short and basic terms,  white balance makes black, blacker, and white whiter.

White balance was a crucial factor in the photo above.  You can adjust digital photo white balance after you upload them to the computer, but why not just make it easy on yourself and learn the quick and easy way?

Most cameras like DSLR and other higher end digital cameras will have a white balance located on the top of the camera – it will be a dial, or some buttons and is usually marked with + and – signs.  Check your camera manual if you can’t find it.  Some cameras will integrate it inside a menu.

If your camera doesn’t have a manual white balance adjustment, just use the different photo settings like outdoor, indoor, night and flash.  The camera will automatically have the white balance calibrated for that type of light.

When you are first trying out the white balance, aim to use something white to adjust to.  There are special cards available to help you make sure you’ve got the white balance right, but you can also just do it by sight.  It is better to start by taking a few photos of a white object while you adjust it.  Upload those and see which one truly reflects the colours in your scene.

Sometimes photographers will purposely not adjust the white balance correctly if they want to achieve the yellowing of a tungsten light for atmosphere or an even brighter bright blue sky.

However you want to use it, white balance is a key element to have in your digital photography arsenal.  Use your skills wisely.

I hope you enjoyed this new series about digital photography.  I’m hoping to make “Behind the Lens” a regular feature on the blog, so let me know if there’s anything you’d like to learn about, or if you have any comments for improvement.  As always, find me on google plus and facebook.

 

• Copyright: Copyright Bill Frymire