One of the most common mistakes I see many beginners and also experienced photographers is setting the white balance in the camera settings before taking pictures. I do understand that there are shots that cannot be missed and shooting the picture becomes the priority. Luckily for us white balance can be done in post process as long as the picture is shot in RAW.
The reason why you would like to fix the white balance in your image is to accurately show the colors. If you have noticed some pictures can seem a bit warm because of the yellowish color casted on the image or the image can be a bit cool because of the bluish color being casted.
Depending on the condition that the picture was taken there are multiple settings to choose from in Photoshop’s Camera Raw. (White Balance: As shot, Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash, and Custom)
As shot: How the image was shot with the last white balance setting in camera.
Auto: The software will automatically pick what it thinks the best setting is.
Daylight: Choose when shot in daylight.
Cloudy: Choose when shot in a cloudy condition.
Shade: Choose when shot in a shady area.
Tungsten: Choose when shot under a tungsten light source (Usually image is yellowish/warm), this setting will cool down the picture.
Fluorescent: Choose when shot under a fluorescent light source (Usually image is bluish/cool), this setting will warm up the picture.
Flash: Choose when shot with a flash.
Custom: Only choose if there was an item that is white which you can use the White Balance tool to click on.
Tutorial
As shot: How the image was shot with the last white balance setting in camera.
Auto: The software will automatically pick what it thinks the best setting is.
Daylight: Choose when shot in daylight.
Cloudy: Choose when shot in a cloudy condition.
Shade: Choose when shot in a shady area.
Tungsten: Choose when shot under a tungsten light source (Usually image is yellowish/warm), this setting will cool down the picture.
Fluorescent: Choose when shot under a fluorescent light source (Usually image is bluish/cool), this setting will warm up the picture.
Flash: Choose when shot with a flash.
Custom: Only choose if there was an item that is white which you can use the White Balance tool to click on.
Tutorial
In this tutorial I will be using Photoshop to edit the picture and fix the white balance.
1. Open up the RAW image that you would like to edit.
2. On the left side there will be options on fixing the white balance.
Right now the white balance of the image I am using is set to “As Shot”. The image looks a bit blue.
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3. Pick the appropriate setting. It is best to record what the lighting that was used when the shot was taken.
When I took the photograph I used a flash. Now the image looks better having a warmer tone.
John Quidilla 2011 ©
4. Now that you have the image fixed save your work.
Now there is also an option to manually set the white balance of an image by choosing “Manual” in the white balance setting. This will only work if there is something white in the image that you have taken.
1. Choose “Custom” in the white balance setting.
2. Click on the White Balance Tool in the upper left hand. Hot key for the tool is ( I ).
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3. Click on a white part of the image and this will fix the white balance.
Setting white balance is as easy as that. Remember to set white balance in the camera setting if you can. By doing this, you will save one step in post production.
This concludes the tutorial on fixing white balance. I hope this tutorial has helped.
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