What is white balance? What does it mean to take pictures?

White balance is a technique that is always interested by camera users because it affects the color of the image. If you are still not sure what white balance is and what it means in photography, let’s find out with Tnhelearning.edu.vn right away!

What is white balance?

In colored environments, white is superimposed on it by the hues of the colors in that medium. You can notice this when you check the photos after you take them and notice that some of them are turned orange, blue, yellow, etc.

That’s why we need White Balance – the setting in the camera to make sure the colors in your images look as natural as possible.

Learn about Kelvin . color temperature

Color temperature is defined as “the temperature of an absolute black body whose radiation is the same color as that of Tungsten”. The unit of color temperature is degrees Kelvin (degrees K).

The color temperature parameter is a number from 1000 to 10000 . Cool colors start with the parameter 1000 . With this parameter, the photo taken will have a blue tone, giving the viewer a feeling of sadness or cold.

At a color temperature of 10000 , the image will turn red or orange , giving the viewer a feeling of heat or warmth.

One thing to note is that when we talk about the color temperature of an object, we are talking about the brightness of the object, not its temperature.

Take a look at the Kelvin color temperature chart under different lighting conditions.

How to adjust white balance when taking photos

The process for changing white balance in digital cameras varies by manufacturer and model.

For example, most professional Nikon cameras like the Nikon D300s/D700/D3 have a dedicated WB button on the top dial , while cameras like the Nikon D90 have a WB button on the back of the camera that is closer to LCD screen.

So to change the white balance, hold the WB button with one hand, then turn it counterclockwise. For all current DSLRs Nikon also allows you to change the white balance through the settings menu .

The right way to white balance in each use situation

You may have noticed that your camera has a range of different white balance modes . The most popular are: Auto, Tungsten, Daylight, Cloudy, Flash, Shade, Fluorescent and Custom.

• Auto mode (AWB) : The AWB automatically adjusts the color temperature using data taken in by the camera’s sensors. AWB can flexibly switch from one light environment to another quickly.
• Tungsten mode (Indoor) : Tungsten leans towards cooler tones and tends to set a color temperature around 3,200K.
• Daylight/Sunny mode : If you take photos when the sun is shining, be it outdoors or indoors, daylight measures around 5,200K.
• Cloudy mode : Cloudy days tend to favor slightly cooler tones, setting Cloudy on your camera will probably add a bit of warmth to the image. Cloudy has a temperature of about 6,000K.
• Shade mode : Like the flash setting, Shade tends to warm up the scene to compensate for the cool blue tones of subjects when there is no sun.
• Flash mode : Flash warms up the image slightly to compensate for the cooler tones of your camera’s flash. Flash mode is usually around 6,000K.
• Fluorescent mode : Fluorescent lighting is one of the more complicated lights to work with and tends to give off a cooler light, so this mode will add some warmth to your images around 4,000K.
• Custom mode : Different camera manufacturers have different means of adjusting the white balance custom settings on the camera. Some options do not allow specific temperature selection while others rely on the +/- scale on the spectrum.

Above is information about white balance and its meaning in photography that Tnhelearning.edu.vn shares with you. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below the article.