White Balance — Simply Explained
Have you ever taken a photo indoors and everything looked orange? Or in shade and everything looked blue? That's a white balance issue. White balance tells your camera what "white" looks like under different lighting, so colors appear natural. It's easier to fix than you think.
Why Do Colors Look Wrong?
Different light sources have different color temperatures. Sunlight is neutral-white. Incandescent bulbs are warm-orange. Shade and cloudy skies are cool-blue. Fluorescent lights are greenish. Your eyes automatically adjust — a white paper looks white to you everywhere. But your camera needs to be told which light source you're using.
White Balance Presets
Every camera has white balance presets: Daylight (sun icon), Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten/Incandescent (light bulb), Fluorescent, and Flash. Auto White Balance (AWB) works well in most situations. For tricky lighting (mixed sources, sunsets), switching to a preset or setting Kelvin manually gives more control. If you shoot RAW, you can change white balance later without quality loss.
Practice Tip
Take the same photo of a white object under indoor lighting using each white balance preset. Compare the results: Daylight will look very orange indoors, while Tungsten will look natural. This shows you exactly what white balance does. Pro tip: if you shoot RAW, use AWB and adjust in post — it's the easiest workflow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I always fix white balance in camera?
If you shoot JPEG, yes — white balance is baked into the file. If you shoot RAW, it doesn't matter as much since you can adjust it later. But setting it correctly in camera saves you editing time and helps you learn how light works.
Can wrong white balance be creative?
Absolutely! Setting Tungsten white balance outdoors creates a dramatic blue-cold look. Setting Shade in warm light creates an even warmer, golden tone. Some photographers use "wrong" white balance intentionally for mood and atmosphere.
Put It Into Practice
Use the wizard to get camera settings for your next shot — based on what you just learned.