It is not difficult to see that sometimes even photographs taken in the same environment, with the same light, can have different colors. Tones can vary between yellowish and bluish, mainly. This color variation is caused by the white balance achieved by the camera. In short, this occurs when the lens cannot identify what is white in the photographed environment and therefore distorts the colors.
The different illuminations we capture during our day reflect a specific color, these lights can be both natural and artificial and reflect more yellowish tones, shades of green, blue and warmer colors, such as reddish. Humans have difficulty identifying the color of reflections because our eye automatically corrects the different shades, leaving our environment “balanced”. However, a camera cannot do the same effectively and therefore the photographer must intervene in the manual settings so that the camera lens adapts to some light and reflection.
For more information on lighting, see our article on the types of lights and how to use them.
Although white balance works best on manually adjusted cameras, it is also possible to balance the automatic lighting of the bike. The fully automatic function has predefined modes, in which the photographer can only indicate the approximate color temperature of the environment to be photographed. However, this way, you have no control over the final color of the image and you always run the risk of the lens misinteresting the lighting. Photographs taken with automatic white balance often seem boring and lifeless. Accurately balance when the image to be rendered has white elements.
Another white balance option is the one offered by pre-programmed modes that work better than the first option. When cameras don’t provide manual white balance options, this is the best solution. This setting allows the photographer to choose settings based on local lighting The options are usually sunlight, cloudy days, cold light and incandescent light, so simply select the option that best suits the environment to be photographed, be it an open environment, a shot on sunny days, an atmosphere on rainy days , enclosed environment with bluish lights or enclosed environment illuminated by common lamps, respectively.
If you want to intentionally distort the color of your image, simply choose a mode that doesn’t suit the rendered environment. An example: If the result you’re looking for is a more yellowish-than-normal photo, for a retro tap, choose cloud mode on sunny days.
For professional cameras that have manual mode, there are two white balance options: one in which the photographer indicates the tone of the lighting and another in which the photographer points the lens towards a white object so that he can read the color, which is called “give on target”. Don’t you need to be one? To make this diagnosis, it is sufficient to observe the environment and lighting of the place and deduce, from the predominant coloration, if the color of the light is warmer or colder, it is not necessary to determine the correct temperature, if necessary, there are color temperature tables that the photographer can look at to indicate the value of the camera to perform the white balance.
However, the method considered completely manual is the one mentioned above, “bouncing the target”. To do this, when you select the manual mode of your camera, point it towards a white surface to indicate that it is this color that the lens must identify as white in the environment to be photographed. To achieve more vivid colors, it is recommended to beat the light gray color, in this way the image will gain even more brightness than if the white were balanced. To do this, you can use a device called Swatches. The color table is used to perform color comparisons and measurements, such as checking the color reproduction of an image and a calibration system and / or profiles of digital input devices such as digital cameras and scanners and output display systems, such as printers, monitors and projectors. They are also used by traditional photographers and videographers to calibrate film-using cameras and check the color temperature of the lighting. You can also bounce off other colors to experience different lighting effects on your photo. Do some tests and have fun with white balance. For example, if you hit white? in green elements, the photo will have pink tones. Bounce the red elements, make the photo more blue? Each color generates a different tonality in the lighting. This effect is produced by the rule of complementary colors. So if you want a specific shade on your photo, just hit the button. White? on an opposite color surface, as shown in the following graphic:
To properly perform white balance, it is also necessary to understand that all light sources have a brightness with different tones, sunlight, for example, is slightly yellow, fluorescent light has more bluish tones, incandescent lamps have a brightness that varies between yellowish and orange. All these tones have their specific temperature and this value can be indicated in some cameras with manual options to make the lighting result satisfactory. Of course, in some cases, the temperature displayed on the camera will not be correct, but the closer it is, the better the color of your image.
This is because when a photo is taken, the brightness it reflects through the environment interferes with the color of the final image. For example, in an environment where the incandescent lamp is the light source, all white elements will turn yellowish in the final photo. Although this can be corrected by editing the image, adjusting the white balance on the camera before taking the photo can save the photographer more work.