White balance tells the camera how to interpret the color of the light in a scene. Different light sources can make the same white object appear warm, cool, green, or magenta.
Why does indoor light sometimes look orange?
Traditional tungsten lighting is much warmer than daylight. If the camera is set for daylight while shooting under tungsten light, the image can look strongly orange.
What does Auto White Balance do?
Auto White Balance tries to identify the color of the light and neutralize it. Modern cameras are often very good at this, which makes Auto a sensible default for beginners.
What do the presets mean?
- Daylight: intended for direct daylight.
- Cloudy: usually adds warmth compared with daylight.
- Shade: compensates for cooler light in open shade.
- Tungsten: cools the image to compensate for warm incandescent light.
- Fluorescent: attempts to correct common fluorescent color casts.
What is Kelvin white balance?
Kelvin mode lets you choose a color temperature directly. Lower Kelvin settings make the camera apply a cooler correction, while higher settings apply a warmer correction.
Why RAW files are easier to correct
RAW files preserve more flexibility for changing white balance after capture. JPEG files bake much more of the camera’s color decision into the finished image.