A to Z Challenge: W is for White Balance
Welcome to today’s post for the great Blogging A to Z Challenge!
Today is W is for White Balance.
According to https://photographylife.com/what-is-white-balance, “white balance in digital photography means adjusting colors so that the image looks more natural. ”
Because different light sources have different temperatures, they change the colour quality of things. You probably have noticed how the colour of things looks very different depending on if you are looking at them outside or under fluorescent lights. That’s white balance in action. And you can control for this using your camera, or in an editing program like Photoshop afterwards.
On my DSLR, I have the following White Balance settings (explained at http://expertphotography.com/4-steps-to-understanding-white-balance/). I have included examples of each where the camera settings are identical (F4.5, Exposure time 1/3 sec, ISO 1600, focal length 32mm), only the White Balance setting has changed.
auto – this is apparently good if you have no idea what you’re doing, which is me, most of the time (not just when taking pictures…)
daylight – use in, well, the daylight. But don’t forget to switch back to auto when you move back inside 🙂
shade – warm up outdoor photos in shady areas (that’s what the website says)
cloudy – guess when you use this?
tungsten light – for indoors under regular lightbulbs (called incandescent, but that’s too many words I don’t understand…)
white fluorescent light – I try to avoid fluorescents at all costs, but sometimes you just can’t.
flash – keeps the flash from being too harsh, I think…
custom – I don’t know how to use this. It sounds complicated, so I think I’ll stick to auto for now…
Posted on April 27, 2016, in A to Z Challenge and tagged A to Z Challenge. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
I like natural too (auto mode). Good take, especially liked you imparting knowledge through the prompt.
Thanks! I don’t know how much actual knowledge I’ve imparted, but I’ve had fun learning more about my camera!!
Yes, that’s another perspective 🙂
You have done great with this challenge, Emily! And you model is adorable, of course. 😀
Thanks! And he also says thanks. It was hard for him to sit still in complete and utter slumber for so long 🙂
It looks like the white balance “cools” things down, when that have that yellowy cast to them. I get an orangey one sometimes, on my phone. But I can’t adjust the white balance on my phone.
That a good way to put it. I have a White Balance option on my Camera+ app on the iPhone – haven’t tried using it yet, but I think I will!
I got a new phone today and it has an option to use what it calls Pro features, so after all I’ve learned from your blog last month, I’m looking forward to playing with all those settings, because the Pro features have them!. 😀
Have fun! And let me know how things turn out with all those Pro features 🙂
You have a very patient kitty model. I get one snap and mine’s gone as if he’s afraid I’ll capture his soul or something. Like your photos.
Yeah – I was actually surprised he sat still for the whole shoot. Doesn’t happen often!