White Balance Presets and Custom Settings: A Practical Guide

What White Balance Does

White balance is the camera's method of keeping whites truly white under any light source. Different lighting conditions, from sunny skies to indoor bulbs, add a color tint to your images. If left uncorrected, a scene lit by tungsten bulbs can look orange, and one in open shade can look blue.

Cameras address this with three main tools: automatic white balance, a set of fixed presets for common lighting, and a custom white balance function. Each serves a different purpose, and understanding the differences gives you control over the mood and accuracy of your photographs. For a deeper look at the concept, see our white balance explained guide.

Common White Balance Presets and Their Uses

Each preset is a reliable choice when you know the lighting situation and do not want to think about white balance mid-shoot. They are especially useful for JPEG shooters who prefer a finished look straight out of camera.

• Daylight: for shooting under sunny, clear skies; it produces natural colors.
• Shade: for subjects in the shade, which often have a cool blue cast; it warms the image.
• Cloudy: for overcast days; it adds a subtle warmth to counteract the grayness.
• Tungsten: for indoor incandescent bulbs; it corrects the orange cast they create.
• Fluorescent: for fluorescent lights; it removes the green or yellow tint.
• Flash: for use with a camera's built-in or hot-shoe flash; it matches the flash's near-neutral color.

Auto White Balance: Convenience vs. Consistency

Auto white balance (AWB) evaluates the entire scene and attempts to remove any color cast automatically. It is a solid default for everyday shooting, events, or any time you need to move quickly between locations with different light.

The downside is that AWB can be inconsistent. A scene dominated by a single color, such as a red sunset or a green forest, might cause the camera to overcompensate, leaving colors looking flat or odd. In mixed lighting situations, AWB may also shift between frames, making it hard to keep a consistent look across a series of photos.

Setting a Custom White Balance

When accurate color is essential, a custom white balance is the best option. This procedure involves pointing your camera at a neutral gray or white surface under the light you will be using, then letting the camera measure the cast and store a correction. The exact steps differ by camera model, but the general process is:

Select the custom WB mode in your camera's menu or function button. Place a neutral gray card or a white surface so it fills the frame, and take a picture of it. Confirm the reading in the camera's interface. Some cameras also allow you to enter a color temperature value manually, but that requires familiarity with the Kelvin scale and the light source.

• Use a gray card, not a white sheet of paper, because paper can have optical brighteners that skew the reading.
• Make sure the gray card is lit by the same light that will illuminate your subject.
• Re-set the custom white balance whenever you change location or the light changes.

Shooting RAW for Flexibility

If you shoot in RAW format, white balance is stored as metadata rather than being permanently applied to the image. That means you can change the color temperature and tint later in editing software without losing image quality. This is a huge advantage when you are unsure of the lighting or want to fine-tune the mood after the shoot. Learn more in our raw format explained guide.

With RAW, even if you use the wrong preset or rely on AWB, you can correct the white balance during post-processing. Many photographers treat white balance as a creative decision that is best made on a calibrated monitor rather than in the field. However, setting a correct white balance in-camera still saves time and helps you judge exposure and composition while shooting.

White Balance for Video and Mixed Lighting

For video, white balance needs to be consistent within a clip. If you change white balance while recording, you will see a sudden color shift in the footage. That is why most videographers set a specific preset or custom white balance before they start filming, and then lock it to avoid fluctuations.

When a scene has mixed lighting, like daylight from a window plus tungsten lamps, no single preset can correct both. A custom white balance based on a gray card held near your subject is the most reliable method. For even more control, you can use a picture profile with log gamma and color grade the footage later, as described in our video log and gamma guide. If you are exploring video features, also see our 4K video explained guide.

Practical Tips for Accurate Color

Getting white balance right comes down to a few habits. Set a custom white balance every time you move to a new location or the light changes. For JPEG shooting, this is essential because the correction is baked in. For RAW, it still helps you preview the image on the camera screen and speeds up your workflow.

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind:

• When using a gray card, photograph it in the same light as your subject, and avoid reflections or colored surfaces nearby.
• If you are shooting indoors with a mix of window light and artificial light, consider turning off one source or using a custom white balance.
• If you forget to change the preset, AWB can often rescue you, but it is not always precise.
• Some cameras offer white balance bracketing, which captures the same frame with different white balance settings. This can be useful if you are unsure of the light.
• If you are in the market for a camera with solid white balance controls, browse our best mirrorless cameras guide.

What to pick for your use

Questions

What is the difference between auto white balance and a preset?

Auto white balance measures the scene each time you press the shutter and adjusts on the fly. A preset applies a fixed correction based on the light source you select, such as daylight or tungsten, giving you more predictable and consistent results.

Should I use a white balance preset or a custom white balance?

Presets are handy for common scenes and work well when you know the light. For critical color accuracy, especially under mixed or unusual lighting, custom white balance is more accurate because it measures the actual light you are using.

Can I change white balance after taking a shot?

Yes, if you shoot RAW. White balance is stored as metadata and can be adjusted without loss in editing software. For JPEG files, the color correction is permanently applied, so you would need to edit with limited success. See our raw format explained guide for more details.

Does white balance affect black and white photos?

Not directly, but it changes how colors are rendered, and those colors are then converted to grayscale. Different white balance settings can therefore alter the tonal contrast of a black and white image.

Why does my camera's custom white balance sometimes produce a wrong result?

A custom white balance can fail if your gray card is not truly neutral, if it is not lit by the same light as your subject, or if you change the light after setting it. Also, be sure to reset it when the lighting changes completely.