#. Q&A Or FAD-5. What is White Balancing - TravellerG

[TravellerG]

#. Q&A Or FAD-5. White Balancing – What is it…?

Hi… Dear all…

@DeniGu @LucioV @aka_R_n @ProfArunCM @davidhyno @StephenAbraham @AmbrishVarshney @NareshDarji @JohnPeter @NandKK

Hope, this post is simple enough to be understood by common people. I request seniors, to comment & support, so that, we can educate our Local guides & get better photos in Google Maps. We need to increase the awareness of (our Local Guides), for quality photos, in Google Maps - I hope, you agree with me.

What is White Balancing in Photography? (In simple words)

Before explaining, I request all beginners to leave “White Balance” to “Auto Mode”, untill you experiment & be fully confident with it.

There are at two times, this term comes in, in Photography:

• Before the capturing the Photo (ie. a setting made in Camera) &
• After capturing the Photo (A process, affecting the photo’s colors)

Before taking the Picture:

White Balancing is a Camera setting (usually adjustable in “Manual Mode”), to make the camera to understand ‘absolute whiteness’ (or blackness), as the Camera’s image sensor, which is an electronic part, cannot do this perfectly, by itself. However, many of the modern cameras are, very capable of setting this parameter, automatically, using its own intelligence.

In other words, White Balancing is a camera setting, which is done (Manually or Automatically), along with Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO, to take photos, which will have natural colors, close to the original scene.

This parameter helps to correct the color differences caused by Fluorescent Tube, Tungsten Bulb, Day light, Cloudy light, etc.

After taking the Picture:

White Balancing, done during the post processing (after the photo is taken), is a correction, if needed, using Software / Applications (like Photoshop & many others), which is a time consuming process. Practically, a person, using the software, adjusts the colors of each photo, so that the photo looks closest to the original.

Technically speaking, during post processing of a photo, we adjust the "colour temperature”, which refers to the relative level of warmth, or coolness of White light; this parameter, Color Temperature, is measured in Kelvin and the short form is “K”.

(Note: The following shots are taken under day (shady) light, and is just, for reference only). But, if you study these in detail, you can get an idea about the variations. Please notice, how the different colors change (I have included black & white too)

#. 1. This first shot: Camera in Fully Automatic Mode (The camera has taken a value close to 5,600K); close to natural colour.

#. 2. The second: Camera in Manual mode, with White Balancing with maximum “Cool” ie. 2,300K

#. 3. The third: Camera in Manual mode, with White Balancing with maximum “Warmth” ie. 10,000K

The importance of White Balancing, and few reference - Color Temperatures, will be discussed (in little more details), in the next post.

Thanks,

Our previous Post in Q & A – HDR & HDR+ Explained – Here

Our previous post on “Get More Views for your Photos” – Here

[davidhyno]

Thanks @TravellerG !

Another great post about photography!

Thanks,

David

[NandKK]

Great post sir @TravellerG , another informative post about photography. Earlier i used to do white balancing after clicking the pictures, now i will also try for the setting before taking the picures.

[NareshDarji]

Great photography tips @TravellerG

IvI’ learned lots of in your post. Thanks for sharing.

[JurgenR1]

Hello and thanks for your report about white balancing.

To my opinion your explanation is not true because i think that a full cool temperature as shown on shot #2 would be about 6500 K , on the other hand shot #3 with its “warm” colour atmosphere should be about 2500 K.

Daylight look means - like heaven -more blue “cool” look and (5700-7000K)

so called “tungsten” look - like candle lighting - more yellow “warm” look(2000-3200K).

So white balancing means nothing else than calibrate your camera before the shooting to the colour “atmosphere” that is present or - if you want a special look of colours - that you want to set as standard for this foto(s). Normally a white balance is done for example by holding a peace of white paper into the picture frame in the light situation that is used for the shooting.

Here comes a photo showing the different colours within Kelvin temperature scale.

Thanks

[Saravanakanth]

Thank you @ @TravellerG for educating us about photography through another wonderful post. It was really useful.

kindly keep educate us.

[Shrut19]

**Namskar … @TravellerG **

It’s a Very Good Information for new members Like Me…

Thank you so much for your Efforts to Explain on Connect…

Keep Telling Us More Information…

Regards From Mumbai

[TravellerG]

Thanks for your appreciation…

I am sure, dear @davidhyno , a line of your experience can add motivation to others.

Regs

[TravellerG]

Thanks for your reply:

IMPORTANT:

1. Even in Manual Camera Mode, for normal photography, even we pros leave White Balance in Auto, many times; Unless it is needed (like Paid Shots), it is recommended to have White balance may in Auto mode - it saves a lot of time.

Regs

[TravellerG]

Thanks, dear @NareshDarji

Hope, the next post too will give you lot more clarity.

[TravellerG]

Thank you dear @Shrut19

Its my pleasure to share the knowledge and experience, here.

Future posts also, should be very much useful, in day today life.

regs

[TravellerG]

Thanks @JurgenR1 for having gone through my post in detail and replied it also, in detail.

• First, let me state, that my previous post is correct, to avoid confusion, to other readers.

In one way, you are right! **(**I accept the part of the graph).

However, dear friend, this is a universal doubt (in Photography) and needs to study a few documents to clearly understand this. Hence, I would request you to go through the following statements & documents from Wikipedia - I humbly request you to take my suggestion, in the right spirit.

Wiki:

“Contrast the traditional warm–cool association of color with the color temperature of a theoretical radiating black body, where the association of color with temperature is reversed”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_balance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature

“For colors based on black-body theory, blue occurs at higher temperatures, whereas red occurs at lower temperatures. This is the opposite of the cultural associations attributed to colors, in which “red” is “hot”, and “blue” is “cold”.^{[7]” (wiki)}

In Photometry, we consider the electromagnetic radiation emitted by an ideal ‘black body’, where as in Photography, it is just reverse. Hope, the following picture, from Wikipedia, will explain this point.

Photo: From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature)

The photos in my previous posts were captured using Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus and those are explained in the next post; kindly view the same, please.

Thanks for your supports

[JurgenR1]

Thanks so much @TravellerG for your response - and of course i take it in the right spirit.

You are right belonging the colour tendences in these photos, but , excuse me please, what i try to explain with my words was the fact that if you are talking about Kelvin colour temperature measurement “warm” always describes temperatures betwen 1500 and 3500 Kelvin whereas “cool” temperatures you can find from 5000 to nearly 10000 Kelvin. These are the results of the impression you get when heating up a so called “black body”.

Hopefully you agree with this fact and you take it in the right spirit too.

Maybe next time you show some examples of other mix light situations with or without any greycards.

Greetings from Berlin

cu

[SalmaanN]

Hi @TravellerG .

Thanks for this informative post. Being a Local Guide, I believe we all have to learn to take great photos so that our contributions get reach a far great level. The sample photos are really helpful. I appreciate your efforts. I would like to know which light conditions I can prefer manual mode and to select the right colour temperature.

[TravellerG]

Dear friend @JurgenR1

what i try to explain with my words was the fact that if you are talking about Kelvin colour temperature measurement “warm” always describes temperatures betwen 1500 and 3500 Kelvin whereas “cool” temperatures you can find from 5000 to nearly 10000 Kelvin

I fully agree with you, appreciate your spirit of explaining it in detail… Thank you very much.

This is what I too studied in Science / Physics; but, in Photography, we get the readings as shown below. I shall try to explain little more in my post.

Cool (this is what we say)…(2,800K…Min in Honor View 10 Mobile Camera)

Warm (7,000K…Max in Honor View 10 Mobile Camera)

Hope, you got the point.

Once again, you are very correct, when we say red is 10K+…

Probably, in photography… it may be treated as ‘Ideal White Body absorbed’ … or something like that - but, it is ‘opposite’ to the conventional graph.

However, although I am a Pro Engineer (Retd.), in these series of my efforts are to address the Common People & to bring awareness to them, to take better photos.

Thanks

[TravellerG]

Thanks & happy to know that you are able to enjoy the posts.

I shall definitely, give couple of posts on “Manual, PRACTICAL Photography” - kindly follow me.

Direct answer for your qn: even in Manual Mode, initially opt, Auto White Balance. Rest, I will explain the next few posts,

All the best…

Wish you to be an Pro Photographer Soon…

Regs

[LucioV]

Great and useful thread @TravellerG ! Another one!

[DeniGu]

Thank you for another post full of useful information and tips, @TravellerG !

I think it’s great that you take the time to present different parameters of photography and explain their importance when it comes to making the best shot possible.