White Balance is a very important feature used in Photography and also in Video shooting. And it's very easy to execute. But.. do we really understand when it should be used and how it should be used, and actually what it does.
If not done correctly it can destroy the mood of the photographs and also not save the right color tones in the photographs.
But did you know- That WB or White Balance does not deal with any other colors like Yellow, Blue, Green, or Red ... it only deals with White. The whiteness in the Image, whether it is on the Warmer side or the cooler side, and accordingly white balancing allows the Camera to identify the White in that color situation and makes it neutral, so the other colors also start looking natural as they should appear under a day- Sunlight.
Also very interestingly when you shoot RAW images, White Balance can be changed as in RAW photos - there are 3 files separately captured. 1. The Data in high Bit rate 2. The Settings 3. A thumbnail of the Image. So in the Editing software or in the camera, you can edit, apply your selected WB settings, and export a processed Image.
White balancing doesn't mean that it will capture the real mood of the Image always. For example- In warm light during Sunset- as soon as you apply WB, the white will be appearing as the light of Day time like 5600 kelvin, and the Golden effect will not be seen. Similarly in Candlelight, also the warm tone of the Candle flame can get neutralized and the effect from the candlelight will not appear similar as you usually witness the candlelight effect. Of course, you have the option to edit and make it right during Post-production, or you can simply select the Sun preset to retain this Golden color.
This technique also works great when you are shooting in a situation where the Light's color is constantly changing. In this situation, Auto-White balance can be a disaster, more in a Video. It is a smart choice to either select the Sun WB mode if you don't have adequate time to set up or Fix WB on something white like a white thermocol board in 5600K light. If there are multiple cameras to be operated, all cameras should be White balanced in this situation.
Not only for correcting the Whiteness or position of the White in the Images, but this feature of White-Balance also can be used very Creatively. Like in normal daylight you select the 'Preset- Cloud mode' and nature will look, Warmer and Golden with this Setting. Technically 'Cloud WB mode' means it is higher in Kelvin which is 7k or 7500 (Bluish) - so to correct this the camera will make the whiteness go a little warmer to neutralize the Bluishness and help you to add a creative effect to your frame by balancing it differently.
Also, you can select Bulb or Candle-Preset under normal light conditions to turn them Blusish adding a creative effect of adding a Bluish cast to the frame.
That was some stuff on White Balance, for more detailed information or understanding you can always get in touch with me at info@sayantandutta.com
But have you thought of Why Bluishness is called Cool color temperature though the Kelvin value is high? And Redishness - called Warm tone - though the Kelvin Value is less. - Well if you cannot find the answer- Stay tuned to my Blog and I will be discussing more on this topic.
Feel free to send your Questions on Photography to me at info@sayantandutta.com, and I would love to share the information.
Upcoming topic: Moods of Color
