White Balance
White balance (WB) is the process of setting the camera to remove colour casts caused by different light sources, this means that objects which appear white when we look at them appear white in our photos. When setting White Balance we need to take into account the "color temperature" of a light source, this means how warm or cool our light source is. If we do not match the camera white balance setting on the camera to the light source in our desired photo, then the results can either be an orange colour cast or a blue one depending if we are too warm or too cool. Our eyes are very good at identifying white objects under different light sources, but digital cameras often have great difficulty with the auto white balance (AWB) setting. Thankfully our cameras have white balance presets which make it easier to match the setting to the correct light source.
Colour Temperature is measured using the Kelvin Scale (K). Many cameras let us fine tune white balance by adjusting the actual temperature instead of using presets.
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWWaapOFZMg
Colour Temperature is measured using the Kelvin Scale (K). Many cameras let us fine tune white balance by adjusting the actual temperature instead of using presets.
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWWaapOFZMg
Task
Take a series of photos of a piece of white paper. Both outside and indoors under the tungsten lamps.
Explain what white balance means in your own words and then show the effects of white balance using your images as examples.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY:
Try setting the white balance under different conditions e.g. Tungsten Bulb, Fluorescent lights and Outside.
- One with the correct white balance setting
- One 'too warm'
- One 'too cool'
Explain what white balance means in your own words and then show the effects of white balance using your images as examples.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY:
Try setting the white balance under different conditions e.g. Tungsten Bulb, Fluorescent lights and Outside.