Understanding how to set white balance and how you can manipulate white balance will help you become a better videographer and photographer.

1. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WHITE
BALANCE & WHY DOES IT MATTER?
@campbellcameras
VS

2. SEE THINGS DIFFERENTY
@campbellcameras
1
DSLRS and Video Cameras do not see the same way
that the human eye does
Our eyes can adjust the colors of what we
are looking at by the light. Cameras try, and
sometimes succeed in producing the right
color in AWB (auto white balance) but most
of the times they FAIL.

3. White Balance Definition
2
White balance adjust the colors of the scene
Why do you want to manually set your WB?
@campbellcameras
AWB can create unsightly blue,
orange, or even green color casts
1
Gives you creative control over the look
and feel of your image or video.
2
Photo Credit: NikonUSA
BUT.... YOU MAY WANT TO CHANGE
THE LOOK....
Too Orange
Too Blue

4. Understanding Color Temperature
3
@campbellcameras
1000-2000 K
2500-3500 K
Candlelight
Tungsten Bulb
(household)
3000-4000 K
A clear
sunrise/sunset
4000-5000 K
Fluorescent
Lamps
5000-5500 K
Electronic
Flash
5000 - 6500K
Daylight with
Clear Sky (sun
overhead)
Moderately
Overcast
Sky
6500-8000 K
Shade or Heavily
Overcast Sky
9000-10000 K

5. Color Temperature Effect
4
@campbellcameras
Took the same subject, set the white balance to the following temperatures. Notice how much
white balance effects the look and feel of the image. This was shot outside on an cloudy day.
2500 K 2800 K 3050 K 3350 K 3850 K 4050 K
4450 K 4750 K 5550 K 5900 K 6150K 6200 K
6650 K 7250 K 8000 K
Correct Natural
Exposure for this
image.

6. White Balance Settings
5
@campbellcameras
These are your typical white balance options on most cameras
Incandescent setting is best for traditional household bulbs.
Fluorescent will prevent the green cast common to photos taken in fluorescent
light.
Cloudy will add a bit of warmth to the light.
Flash adds a more aggress touch of warmth to take the edge off the birght light of a
flash.
Shade adds a slight pink tone to eliminate the blue cast that shadows take.
Sunny/ daylight sets the color temperature to around 5000k, which is your typical
mid-day sun
In Auto setting the camera will read the scene’s color temperature (basically the hue and intensity of a particular light
source, measured in degrees Kelvin) and choose a setting from its collection of pre-programmed adjustments.
Custom Temperature is a do-it-yourself choice, in which you actually set the degrees Kelvin to affect how the
camera will see and render the hue and intensity of colors in the scene. Using the Kelvin setting you can fine tune
those colors to your definition of “accurate,” or skew the colors to reflect your choice of the scene’s mood and feeling.
Custom White Balance - With that option selected, hold a white card or pure white object in front of the lens and
press the shutter button. The camera will read and lock in the color temperature of the light reflected from that card,
and that locked-in reading now becomes the standard for the camera’s white balance setting. Custom WB is an ideal
way to handle a scene that presents mixed lighting—fluorescent lights in the ceiling and daylight streaming through a
window, for example—because it takes into account all the lighting in the scene.

7. How To Set Custom WB
5
@campbellcameras
Have a White Card, computer
paper, or anything pure white.
1 Go to your WB settings in your
camera and select Custom WB
2
The usual symbol
Place the white object in your shot
and have it cover the entire frame
in your camera. When you press
the shutter button it locks the WB.
3

8. THE END
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