White balance & color temperature

From realistic to creative: how white balance and color temperature influence the mood of your pictures

In addition to the obviously important settings on your camera - aperture, exposure time and ISO - there is another very important control function hidden in the menu: white balance. This tool is sometimes neglected in everyday photography, as it does its work quietly and conscientiously in automatic mode. However, with little effort, you can change an enormous part of the effect and mood of your pictures with the help of the white balance.

The basics of white balance

1 What is color?

Amazing, but true: color is not the same for every living being. This is due to three types of light waves: short, medium and long waves. The human eye reacts to these different wavelengths and sends information to the brain, which uses it to create the different shades of color. The different wavelengths represent different colors. The same scene would be perceived very differently by a bee or a cat, for example, as the wavelengths are interpreted very differently here.

A camera sensor also works according to the same principle. Unlike the eye, which can perceive around 150 color tones, the sensor - theoretically - perceives over four quadrillion color tones. All on the basis of the three waves that stand for red, green and blue (RGB). However, how the sensor interprets the light waves it receives can vary depending on the sensor, manufacturer and image processor.

2 How does the white balance work?

The white balance of your camera measures the color temperature of the image. The simplest option is automatic mode, often referred to as AWB (Automatic White Balance) in your camera menu. Here, the brightest point of the respective subject is defined as "neutral white" - which has an effect on all other color representations of the subject. As the camera only evaluates data and has no real understanding of the situation, despite the latest technology and algorithms, this result cannot always be satisfactory. And accordingly, an incorrect color temperature can significantly influence the effect of your shot.

The color temperature is classically specified in Kelvin. A candle forms the beginning of the scale with approx. 1,000 Kelvin. It goes from light bulbs (the old 60 watt version is assumed here) to fluorescent tubes and on to overcast skies. In everyday life, this means that every situation is tied to a specific color temperature. Think of landscape shots in the blue hour before sunrise, soft light in the morning for portraits or atmospheric shots in a dreamy street café in the evening.

Fortunately, a simple menu function allows your camera to adapt effortlessly to the lighting situation. The available selections offer you individual options depending on the lighting situation. You can adjust the white balance to the current situation in seconds in the menu or via the quick selection and get far more out of the finished image than the automatic mode sometimes manages.

As a rule of thumb: If it is too dark or too bright for your eyes, this also applies to the automatic white balance. In this case, you should use a suitable white balance setting or the manual white balance of your camera instead.

3 How does the white balance work?

The aim of the white balance is to display colors as naturally as possible. In most cases this is successful - only in certain situations does it become challenging for the AWB. Shots in the snow are a classic example. Instead of a white splendor, the white balance would capture the shot with a slight grey haze. The reason for this is the neutral gray value, which serves as the basic value for the AWB. The solution: switching to a suitable preset or a manual white balance.

For studio shots taken in full and measurable artificial light, the color temperature is of course best controlled, as it does not change the lighting situation during the shoot. Once set correctly, the model's skin remains "colorfast".

Caption: If the white balance is set to the temperature of the studio lights and flashes, the white balance is adjusted directly in the camera.

The practical and creative use of the correct white balance

Now that the basics of the function are clear, let's turn to the possible applications. In contrast to aperture, exposure and ISO value, the white balance is not essential for the success of the image. But it is a powerful tool for the presentation of your images. It doesn't matter whether you show the finished JPEGs "out of camera", i.e. unprocessed, or develop the RAW file in post-processing.

You will not achieve a portrait with a dreamy background blur with an aperture of f/18. You won't be able to turn a waterfall into a silky surface with an exposure of 1/2,000 of a second. And if your subject is noisy at an ISO of 12,800, only expensive software may be able to save it. The white balance, on the other hand, seems harmless. You can't save an unsuccessful motif with it either - but if you turn the right dial, you can turn a good shot into a perfect image.

If you want to stage something in the field of product photography, color fidelity is the most important rule. The product, for example a perfume bottle, should be depicted absolutely authentically. It is not yet important for the image whether it will later be used for a printed catalog or a presentation on a website. The authenticity of the color is what matters.

Caption: In professional product photography, color fidelity is essential. A correct white balance helps to capture the colors faithfully.

The situation is completely different when you want to photograph a beautiful sunset. The colors often explode in all shades of yellow and red. From delicate pastel to strong yellow to intense violet. It's worth adjusting the settings and playing with the defaults. A spectacular sunset must also convey this glowing enthusiasm to the viewer. Neutral colors do not achieve this.

Caption: In a sunset, you want to capture the glorious colors in the picture.

The temperature of the colors very subtly influences what we feel when we look at a picture. We perceive blue as cold and neutral, while yellow radiates warmth and well-being. Unlike the color accuracy of product images, "mood images" are often directed in one direction. For example, we are prepared to see something as technically high-quality in a cold, blue environment, while the same product in warmer shades appeals more strongly to the emotional level.

In a picture of two people, the use of warm colors creates a contented, happy feeling. This works for any celebration, from Christmas or a wedding to small, poorly lit streets that suddenly make you long for dreamy Italian or Spanish alleyways.

Caption: A family picture together is best combined with warm colors to create a cheerful, romantic feeling in the picture.

Conclusion

As you can see: The correct setting of the color temperature in the camera gives you on the one hand security when taking pictures to ensure color fidelity, and on the other hand the creative possibility to transport images, moods and emotions. Experiment with the possibilities offered by your camera's white balance and take strong and unique pictures - perfect for displaying on a wall. The possibilities are practically limitless and entirely up to your creativity. Just give it a try.

Things to know, traps and tools for white balance

Caption: Everything a little warmer and a slight red cast: film looks help to create the right travel flair in the picture.

1. Facts

When the image is developed into a JPEG in the camera, the colors are created based on the white balance. As the exact processes in each manufacturer's image processor are well-kept secrets, the result always varies slightly depending on the model. What is so appreciated by enthusiasts of the respective brands is called "color science" by the specialists. Fujifilm, for example, is said to have a richer green, Canon has particularly aesthetic skin tones and Nikon a stronger yellow component.

Most camera models offer a number of "film looks". These are a kind of preset for the finished image. Fujifilm's "film simulations" are famous here. With "monochrome" or "sepia", the results are clear. Other looks concentrate on special colors or grain. However, this in no way renders the white balance obsolete. It is like a filter that is additionally placed over the image and works with the other variables, such as aperture, ISO or white balance.

2. Traps

If several light sources with different color temperatures are used, this can make the white balance even more difficult. Sometimes there is simply no "correct" color temperature because it is more important that the colors are exactly right in certain places.

With mixed lighting, the automatic white balance normally calculates the average color temperature for the entire scene and then uses this as the white balance. Normally this is fine. However, auto white balance tends to exaggerate the difference in color temperature for each light source compared to what we perceive with our eyes.

Color temperature differences are often a problem when working with mixed indoor and natural light. Sometimes you even have to set a different white balance for each lighting region.

3. Tools

In order to have absolute certainty when selecting the correct white balance, there is an actually priceless but comparatively inexpensive tool: the gray card.

The gray card is designed to reflect 17.68 percent of the light. Using the "manual white balance" function in the camera, it is possible to make an absolutely accurate measurement based on the situation. So it never hurts to have one. You simply take a picture of the gray card as the first image and use it to adjust the balance. There are also a few things to consider here. For example, the value requires consistent lighting conditions. Indoors for portraits or product and food photography, it is absolutely ideal. Outdoors, natural light can be subject to strong fluctuations depending on the weather. You should also never forget that the light changes constantly throughout the day, even under a cloudless sky. Never end a city trip with the same white balance you started it with in the morning.

Another practical tool is already built into your camera. With the help of the histogram, you can read off the tonal values of an image or in advance of the subject.

You can therefore see whether your image has too many dark or light areas (extreme peaks at the ends) or whether there is a lack of contrast (increase in the middle, little to no deflection on the left and right). In this case, you can counteract this with the aperture, ISO or exposure time. However, you can also apply the histogram to the RGB channels. This function allows you to display the individual color components in the same way as for the tonal values.

White balance in RAW format

Caption: For scenes with high contrasts and a wide dynamic range, it is worth shooting in RAW as well as using a suitable white balance.

To get more out of your photos, it is always recommended to shoot in RAW format. The only disadvantage is that you need a conversion program such as Lightroom, Capure One or DXO to develop the digital data sets into "real" images yourself. But there is no better way to turn a shot into the collected moment that you experienced, felt and saw behind the camera.

The RAW contains all the information that the sensor captured during the exposure. This gives you complete control over your image. Exposure compensation, contrast and highlights can be easily adjusted with sliders. Not only is the result more precise and allows you to create your own image style, it is also more detailed than the JPEG from the camera. When it comes to white balance, photography in RAW also has another advantage. As all the information is available, you can still adjust the white balance during the editing process.

Does this make the white balance during shooting obsolete? Not at all. A correct white balance from the outset not only saves you this step in post-processing. It also allows you to correct the image only in the shadows and highlights or in the dynamic range. This gives you more time for creative ideas, such as a vignette, or even to take even more pictures.