7 Tips to Get the Perfect White Balance in Your Photos

One of these things you need to consider when you’re taking photos is the photo white balance. Luckily, the picture white balance is also one of the easiest things to fix and transform your photo results. However, most photographers have low regard for this element, thus missing a crucial aspect of photo enhancement.

The main reason why most photographers disregard the white balance is that it seems tricky. However, the seven tips provided below will prove that photo white balance is a no-brainer.

Why is Photo White Balance Important?

If you are a newbie in the photography field, the white balance might not be something that closes your mind frequently. Instead, many photographers set this to “auto” and focus on other apparent elements such as the background. 

For this reason, you might get away with the auto white balance in many instances. However, disregarding the setting could ruin what would have become an excellent picture.

If you properly master and use the white balance, the colors look more like they did in real life when you took the photo. Failing to tweak the settings, on the other hand, makes the colors look bizarre, which takes more of your time to edit.

By now, you understand the importance of setting the correct white balance every time you take that photo. Now let’s dive into how to do it right in all your images.

1. Carry a Sheet of Paper

You don’t have to set up a massive studio to attain the proper white balance for all your photos. Such a move would be impractical, especially if you are the outdoor photographer kind of a person. A small piece of paper will save you the hassle and solve the problems in many cases. But how?

Before you take your first photo for the day, grab a shot of the white paper and use it to set the white balance in your camera accordingly. Be sure to consider reflections and the changes in lighting conditions in your environment. If there are different lighting conditions throughout the day, take several paper shots to ensure you are in line with the balance.

A white sheet of paper is just an excellent example to help you understand the mechanism. It means that you don’t necessarily need white paper but can also use other options, such as a white wall surface.

2. A Lens Filter

Lens filters are a crucial part of photographers’ toolkit. There’s a wide variety of available filters, with some providing special effects and others focusing primarily on white balance. 

You may want to place the white balance filter over the camera lens in some instances. This could involve holding the filter in front of the camera as you take your shot provided the hand does not get in the way.

White balance filters’ prices vary in price depending on size.

3. Use the Using Kelvin Feature

If using lens filters or relying on white surfaces is not your thing, you still have other options. Modern cameras have a Kelvin feature to adjust the white balance.

Through the Kelvin feature, you control the temperature in all your photos. The lower the number in the Kelvin feature, the bluer the image will appear, meaning that if you go the opposite way, the camera’s white balance will become warmer.

The Kelvin feature also helps you achieve a specific style. However, the setting’s access and effectiveness depend on your type of camera and the manufacturer.

4. Understand Lighting Better

When it comes to photography, everything revolves around lighting. One reason photographers struggle with white balance is the lack of understanding of different lighting conditions. So, if you want to knock your photography out of the park, you must get up to scratch early on.

Start by familiarizing yourself with multiple lighting conditions, even when not taking pictures. The knowledge will better equip you to balance pictures correctly. To learn about camera lighting, read through the numerous blog posts, find videos on YouTube, or enroll on platforms like Skillshare.

5. Use Adobe Lightroom’s White Balance

The best way to achieve the ultimate white balance is when taking the picture. However, you can still make changes in the post-production phase if need be. If you use Adobe Lightroom right, it can serve as a powerful tool to change your photos’ white balance.

The white balance selector in Lightroom helps you make necessary changes in your photos. Simply open the “Basic” section and click the “dropper” icon, which serves as the white balance selector present in your camera profile. If you want to alter the white balance, click the white area in your image.

6. Calibrate Your Camera Screen

Sometimes an uncalibrated screen is probably the reason behind the massive difference in real life and the image you upload to the computer. Sometimes there’s a clear indication that what we see on the screen is not similar to what we see in real life.

Luckily, modern cameras come with the screen calibration feature to alter colors, brightness, and much more. Note that the effectiveness of the feature depends on your expertise and the camera manufacturer.

7. Reposition Your Eyes

Sometimes the white balance problem may not be emanating from the camera settings but instead from your stare at the screen for long periods. Having your eyes glued on the screen for long periods could make you see things differently. So, it would help if you considered taking a break and doing something else after editing for hours. Indulge in something that does not involve the computer or phone for a minute and resume the editing.

Similarly, spend some time looking into your surroundings before you start taking photos. After the short break, resume your work and check whether you have a better idea of how the white balance should look.

If you still rely on the auto mode, be prepared for some frustrations in the long run. White balancing is an easy way to improve the results and produce quality photos. The tips listed here will help you improve your white balance and become a professional.