GETTING CREATIVE WITH WHITE BALANCE

by Christina Fox

This page shows how selecting different white balance settings change the look and feel of a picture. HOWEVER, the monitor, browser and operating system you use all affect the way an image looks. A great shade of blue on my system may not look the same on yours. The images are here to inspire you to try for yourself.

AUTO WHITE BALANCE	MANUAL WHITE BALANCE	TUNGSTEN LIGHT
		These picture were taken in my dining room - which is lit by tungsten light. On my computer monitor the manual white balance looks a little blue. While the auto white balance looks spot on. Preset 5,600 Kelvin looks orange - as expected. While the preset 3,200 Kelvin looks OK. But in this case I think I prefer the auto.

PRESET 5,600K (SUN SYMBOL)	PRESET 3,200K (LIGHTBULB SYMBOL)

AUTO WHITE BALANCE	MANUAL WHITE BALANCE	DAYLIGHT
		These pictures were taken in my garden, an hour before sunset. Between the auto and the manual white balance, I prefer the auto. The preset 3,200 Kelvin has made the sky look very blue - as expected. But in this shot it looks pretty good. You could probably use a shot like this as "day for night". The preset 5,600 Kelvin setting is more natural and closer to the real thing.

PRESET 5,600K (SUN SYMBOL)	PRESET 3,200K (LIGHTBULB SYMBOL)

AUTO WHITE BALANCE	MANUAL WHITE BALANCE	SODIUM LIGHTS (Midnight)
	The sun had gone down and the only light was the street light - so no point in even trying to do a manual white balance on this shot.	These pictures were taken from a bedroom window at about midnight. The street lights are Sodium, which are pretty much a big spike of orange light and not a lot else. Again auto looks pretty good. The preset 3,200 Kelvin has taken out a good bit of the redness of sodium. The preset 5,600 Kelvin shows the sodium lights at their best/worst depending on the look and feel you are after. (If you want to see how gain affected these shots try our gain page)

PRESET 5,600K (SUN SYMBOL)	PRESET 3,200K (LIGHTBULB SYMBOL)

AUTO WHITE BALANCE	MANUAL WHITE BALANCE	FLOURESCENT
		This subject was lit by energy saving flourescent lightbulbs and seems to have produced the most noticeable differences in white balance setting. Boris is a white polar bear and the duvet cover is a denim blue. Auto is OK but my duvet cover is not that shade of blue. The preset 3,200 Kelvin makes Boris look green on my monitor (unless they are sold as daylight or tungsten balanced, flourescent lamps generally have a green cast). The preset 5,600 Kelvin has given me a green duvet cover and Boris looks decidedly yellow.

PRESET 5,600K (SUN SYMBOL)	PRESET 3,200K (LIGHTBULB SYMBOL)

All the images were recorded onto tape using a PD150. They were then transferred on to a memory stick and opened in Photoshop V6. I have not manipulated the colour of the images in any way, but, obviously, I have reduced them in size for posting on the web.

The auto setting was left to look at the scene for 60 seconds before recording.

More...
No-cost filters how to use coloured paper to get interesting effects
White balancing the PD 150
White balancing the DSR 500
White balancing the VX1000

Christina Fox

> Should a white card be pure white ? I scanned the card and it appears to have a slight blue tint to it.

It should be as white as possible. But, grey will do too - because grey is just "dark white".

For more in depth stuff on white balance I highly recommend the excellent piece by Ex BBC cameraman Tony Grant .

If you want to do some cheap effects you can white balance on almost any colour. Take a look at our examples. Just experiment and see what you get. I was taught not to white balance on clothing because washing powders have optical brightners that can skew your white balance. Remember "Daz gives you bluey whiteness".

>>>>WHEN do we need to white-balance anyway?<<<<<

a.. In mixed light (e.g. in a tungsten lit room with daylight coming through a window).
b.. When shooting subjects lit by fluorescent light
c.. If light conditions are changing quickly (i.e. at sunrise and sunset when you want the shots to match).
d.. Every time you move from one source of light (e.g. outdoors) to another source (i.e. indoors).

Remember, continuity isn't just about the set and wardrobe - you need consistency in picture quality too.

>>>>>Should I white balance before every shot?<<<<<<

Not really. But, for example - If all your shots are outdoors then one white balance would probably do. But, if you shoot some stuff indoors then go outdoors - you'll need to do a WB for each location.

>>>>Only if its dark or bright?<<<<

If it is really dark then the only light around will be artificial light in this case the "lightbulb setting" (3200K) can work. Otherwise the auto WB will be ok. Most night time shots will look a bit orange due to sodium street lights. Sodiums are pretty much a big spike of orange light.

Brightness doesn't effect WB that much. Although shade and full sun do have different colour temperatures (shade is bluer). On bright days I WB in the shade and it helps to warm up the pictures in full sun.

Outside mainly? Funnily enough I think indoors is trickier. Fluorescents are a pain because they can come in all sorts of colours. Plus, there is almost always mixed light indoors. Which means the area of the room nearest the window will be a different colour temperature to the rest of the room. Nurse - the screens!

Christina