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Monday, 25 October 2010

Digital Photography - Adjusting White Balance Settings

Author: Darren K Chow

Job Vacancy, Indonesia Job, Job Indonesia

White balance settings will have an impact on the final color finish of your photo. When we take photos, the temperature in the surroundings influence the colors. Our eyes cannot detect this difference because our eyes adjust to the temperature difference automatically. What appears white to us will appear as white despite the temperature difference. However, the image capture device may not capture the colors accurately. That is why there is a need to adjust white balance settings.
If you do not experiment with white balance, you will notice that some images will appear bluish while other images may appear yellowish, even though the object appears to be white to the naked eye. A bluish image is an indication that the light is too cool (e.g. fluorescent light). A yellowish image is an indication that the light may be too warm (e.g. tungsten lights).
So how do we set the camera to ensure that it captures the colors accurately?
For many digital cameras, white balance may be adjusted automatically or semi-automatically. You may see different modes such as Fluorescent, Tungsten, Sunny (Daylight), Cloudy, Flash, or Shade. For Tungsten and Sunny modes, the light is generally warmer, so the camera adjusts to a cooler shade. For Cloudy, Flash and Shade, the light is generally cooler so the camera warms things up a little.
Still, the best way to achieve the results you are looking for is to use a DSLR camera and adjust the setting manually. You can do this by shooting a white piece of paper to let the camera know what is white in a particular setting. By doing this, you will notice a dramatic improvement to the accuracy of colors that your camera captures.

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