Balancing White Space

White balance is the process of adjusting reds, greens and blues in an image so that a more neutral overall picture is presented. This process changes the overall color scheme of a photo and can be achieved by taking a picture a certain ways as well as using image processing software to physically change the image after it has been taken. Most digital cameras allow you to automatically balance your colors, whereas more advanced cameras allow you take pictures without such settings to find a balance on your own.

The white balance of a picture affects not only the contrast but also the other colors involved in a photograph. Sometimes, depending on the light, the picture is cast in a particular color like orange or red. This gives those colors a tint across the whole picture and destroys the actual vibrancy of color that should have occurred when the picture was taken. White balance, also know as color balancing, seeks to eliminate that type of cast from a photograph.

Color balancing takes place in two steps. First, you have to determine the light source that was applied to the photo. Next, you have to scale the basic colors of the image - your reds, greens and blues - to make sure they react evenly with the light source. Auto-balance does this automatically, whereas you can also try and balance your colors in a photo editing program after you have taken the picture. More advanced photographers take care in using filters and other means to balance the light and color spectrum as they taken the image.

One of the difficulties of taking a picture that has a lot of white in it is that the color will often wash out. White balance processes the temperature of color from a light source which will warm or cool the white in the actual picture. Since we can tell what is white in a picture and what is not, a digital camera does not have the same type of perception. Even using an auto-balance feature on the camera is not a guarantee of obtaining white balance. Often times an incorrect white balance will result in orange, blues and sometimes greens changing the color focus of what should be white.

Since a digital camera tries to compensate for the light source in a picture, color temperature plays an important role in that. Color temperature is the spectrum of light that comes from a particular portion or subject of the photograph. When certain temperatures hit these "blackbodies," as they are sometimes called, they cast off different colors relative to the heat of light projected at them. For example, certain types of metal might become red or white hot based on the light source. However, this type of color displacement is not even and sometimes may not even change the properties of a picture when taken. It can occur quite randomly depending on the light source.

Since most photographers never deal with absolute blackbodies, light sources have been divided into particular categories depending on their source and temperatures. These temperatures are part of the Kelvin scale and is continued a guide to determining what type of color balances are being represented in pictures.

Most digital cameras have an auto-balance feature that allows you to compensate and not have to worry about achieving white balance. While this might be a good feature for novice photographers, it is not full proof. Photographers would be wise to learn about the different types of white balance and how to avoid blackbody color spectrum in their pictures when taking their shot. Most auto-balance features have different settings for various types of lighting. If you are outdoors, if you are using artificial lighting or are in direct sunlight, digital cameras use pre-determined temperature measurements to automatically adjust the image to compensate the lighting in a given picture.

Since these auto-balance features have pre-determined color characters, they will roughly be able to balance most pictures, but they still will not completely balance a picture. The best way to get the most out of white balancing a photo is using the RAW file format. This will let you adjust the white balance after the fact, whether it be on your camera or in a photo editing program, such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. Using the RAW format, you can adjust both the temperature and the green/magenta filters until an even color cast is displayed over the entire image.

Learning how to white balance a photo takes time, practice and the dedication to learn what you can about color casting and how it affects your pictures. The more you know, the more you can prevent color casting from taking place. You will also know how to find a neutral way to take pictures to avoid light destroying a photo. Reading photography books, taking a photography class and practicing out in the field are the best ways to learn how color casting affects your pictures and what you can do to prevent it. Taking the time to educate yourself is the easiest way to balancing white space and taking the best pictures you can with your digital camera.