If you look at your camera, you will find a button to change the white balance. You can choose auto white balance or one of the other predefined settings. But it is also possible to manually set the color temperature. Is there a difference between color temperature and white balance?
I think most photographers will use the auto white balance setting on their camera. Others can use predefined contexts such as sunshine, clouds, shade or tungsten. These settings can give images a natural look under the right circumstances.
Its color and temperature
Color has temperature. Or better said, temperature has a color. When we look at the definition, it says: “the color temperature of a light source is the temperature of an ideal black-body radiator that emits light of a color equivalent to that of the light source.” (the source: Wikipedia) Temperature is in Kelvin.
This all-black body radiator might seem like an odd thing, but it’s pretty simple. It is an object that absorbs radiation and thus becomes warmer. Eventually, it begins to glow, just as iron begins to glow when it is heated. It first glows red, and as it warms up, the color eventually turns white.
Below 1,000 K, we won’t see any color emerge from the black body heatsink. But at 1,000 K, it will start to glow red. At 2,000 K it will be orange, and at 5,000 K it will be yellow. If it is going to 7,000 K, the black body radiator will be white and eventually blue when it reaches 8,000 K or more.
It won’t surprise you when I mention the sun. It was a glowing ball of gas very similar to a black radiator. It has a surface temperature of approximately 5,600 K, equivalent to yellow light. We don’t see that yellow because our eyes are neutralizing it. We want to do the same with our cameras; we want to remove any color mold.
Set color temperature
Most of us are aware of the different colors of light possible during the day. Daylight has a slightly yellow tint, but since our eyes are calibrated for that color it appears to be neutral. Tungsten shifts to orange and something in the dark appears blue. Each of these colors has a different color temperature. Orange tungsten is about 2,500 – 3,000 K, daylight is about 5,000 – 5,500 K, and darkness in full sunlight is 7,000 K.
These color temperatures can be set on our camera, using predefined settings through custom color temperature settings. Predefined settings are represented by the symbols sun, shade, cloud, tungsten, K. The K stands for Kelvin and allows us to adjust the color temperature precisely. Just set the right settings for the right situation, and any color will be neutralized.
Set White Balance
In fact, the last sentence of the previous chapter tells us exactly what the relationship between color temperature and white balance is. By setting the camera to the right color temperature, we will achieve a good white balance. In that case, a white sheet of paper will look exactly like the white in the picture.
I want to show this with a few examples, taken with the model light of Profoto B10 . Flash at different temperatures and different in-camera color temperature settings. It’s a variation of the first example with different white balance settings in daylight situations. I took a picture of the black and white surface of Spyder Lenscal Cards to show the difference.
These examples clearly show how white becomes white when the color temperature setting matches the color temperature of the light. At the time matching is made, white balance is set.
Use white balance calibration card
It can be difficult to determine the correct white balance when different colors of light are present. For example, the combination of tungsten and daylight makes it difficult to achieve accurate white balance.
Fortunately, every camera has an automatic white balance setting. It will determine the color temperature in the frame and set the correct white balance accordingly. The downside of auto white balance is the risk of filtering out the desired color. Reds at dusk or dawn are a good example, as they can be neutralized with auto white balance. The before and after example below shows one yellow photo with the in-camera setting of 5,000 K, the other with the auto white balance setting.
Many modern cameras have various auto white balance options available. These can take natural color into account, leaving beautiful and rich colors when dusk or dawn is unaffected. These special auto white balance settings can even leave some warm tungsten in the frame, instead of turning the warm lights in the house cold and unfriendly.
If precise white balance is required, it is recommended to use a white balance calibration card. Usually, one 18% gray card used, but this is incorrect. The 18% gray card is for exposure measurements. You must use a blank sheet of paper to calibrate the white balance properly. You can also use a Spyder Color testing machine. This card will allow you to configure the camera to get the perfect color and white balance for the lights you are using.
In-camera custom white balance can be achieved, not only by measuring the scene and setting the white balance accordingly, but also by fine-tuning the color balance. Perhaps not all cameras offer this capability, but Canon offers it.
For the photographer shooting in the raw file format, the color temperature for good white balance can be set in post. But in-camera color temperature settings can give JPEG photographers plenty of room to fine-tune colors.
Is Perfect White Balance Necessary?
You may be wondering if it’s necessary to keep the white balance as perfect as possible. If you are photographing subjects that need perfect color rendition, you need to have full control over color temperature and white balance. Using a white balance calibration card or color tester will be a must.
But in all other situations, precise white balance is almost never necessary. Doesn’t matter if you discount a few hundred Kelvin. The reason is simple: the light of the day changes constantly, and the colors will vary as the day progresses. You may see changes in your photos often. It keeps the atmosphere of the moment.
If you want perfect white balance at any given time, it may be wise to use a white balance calibration card for every photo you take. But the flip side of this is that it detracts from all possible beautiful colors.
To answer the question about the difference between white balance and color temperature: color temperature is about the color of light, in Kelvin. If using a color temperature setting makes white subjects truly white, regardless of the current color temperature, you have the correct white balance.
How do you use white balance? Do you set the color temperature yourself or let the camera control it? Of course, it all depends on the subject you shoot. Do share your white balance and color temperature usage in the comments section below.
