The short version
- White balance corrects color casts so whites look white and skin looks natural.
- Light color is measured in Kelvin: low numbers are warm (orange), high numbers are cool (blue).
- Auto white balance handles most scenes; presets (daylight, cloudy, tungsten) fix the rest.
- Shoot RAW and you can change white balance after the fact with zero quality loss.
- Mixed lighting (window plus lamps) is the hardest case; pick the light on your subject.
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What Kelvin means in photography
Kelvin (K) measures the color of light. Candlelight sits near 1,800K and looks deep orange. Household tungsten bulbs are about 3,200K. Midday daylight is around 5,500K and looks neutral. Open shade climbs to about 7,500K and looks blue. The camera shifts its color processing to match whichever temperature you tell it the light is.
| Light source | Kelvin | Look without correction |
|---|---|---|
| Candlelight | ~1,800K | Deep orange |
| Tungsten bulb | ~3,200K | Orange |
| Sunset | ~3,500K | Warm gold |
| Midday sun | ~5,500K | Neutral |
| Overcast | ~6,500K | Slightly cool |
| Open shade | ~7,500K | Blue |
Your eyes adapt to all of this automatically, which is why a white wall looks white to you indoors and out. The camera needs to be told. That instruction is the white balance setting.
The white balance presets and when to use them
Every camera ships with the same handful of presets. Learn what each assumes about the light and you will rarely need anything else:
- Auto (AWB): the camera guesses. Right most of the time, fooled by strongly colored scenes like sunsets or a wall painted red.
- Daylight: assumes 5,500K sun. Your baseline outdoors.
- Cloudy: warms things up to cancel the cool cast of overcast skies. Many photographers leave this on for nicer skin tones.
- Shade: even warmer, for subjects lit by blue skylight in shadow.
- Tungsten: cools down the orange of old indoor bulbs.
- Fluorescent: for office tubes, which can also add a green tint.
- Flash: matches the color of a speedlight.
- Custom / Kelvin: you dial in the exact number or measure it yourself.
If your indoor photos look orange, the camera thought the light was daylight when it was really tungsten. Switch the preset to tungsten and the orange disappears.
How to set a custom white balance
For product shots, portraits that must have accurate skin, or any mixed-light room, measure instead of guessing:
- Put a neutral gray card (or a plain white sheet of paper) where your subject will be, lit by the same light.
- Choose the custom white balance option in your camera menu and take a reference photo of the card filling the frame.
- The camera calculates the exact correction. Shoot normally from there.
On most bodies this lives near the white balance menu; our Canon EOS R50 settings guide and Sony A6400 settings guide show where it hides on those cameras. The card costs a few dollars and beats every preset in tricky light.
Why shooting RAW makes white balance stress-free
White balance on a JPEG is baked in. You can nudge it later, but pushing it far degrades the image. A RAW file stores the sensor data before white balance is applied, so you can set it perfectly in editing with no penalty at all.
This is the real reason beginners are told to shoot RAW: exposure still matters at capture time, but white balance becomes a decision you can postpone. Our RAW vs JPEG guide covers the trade-offs in full.
Common white balance mistakes
- Leaving tungsten preset on outdoors. Everything turns Smurf blue. Check the preset whenever you change locations.
- Trusting auto at sunset. Auto tries to neutralize the golden light you actually want. Switch to daylight or cloudy to keep the warmth.
- Mixing window light and lamps. One will look right and the other will not. Either turn one source off or gel the lamp to match daylight.
- Judging color on a phone screen. Edit white balance on a calibrated display, or at least at full brightness indoors.
Practical white balance tips
- Shoot a gray card in the first frame of every new location. Future you will be grateful.
- For pleasing portraits outdoors, try the cloudy preset even on sunny days. It adds gentle warmth to skin.
- At night, cool white balance (around 3,800K to 4,500K) keeps city scenes moody instead of muddy orange. See our night photography settings for the full setup.
- If two light sources fight, expose for and balance for the one hitting your subject's face.
- When in doubt, shoot RAW and fix it later. That is what RAW is for.
Get the printable camera settings cheat sheet
Two pages for your camera bag: starter settings for portraits, landscapes, sports and night shots, the handheld shutter speed rule, and the five settings rules worth memorizing.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my photos orange indoors?
Your white balance is set for daylight while the room is lit by warm tungsten bulbs. Switch the preset to tungsten, or set a custom white balance, and the orange cast disappears.
Why do my photos look blue outside in the shade?
Shade is lit by blue skylight, around 7,500K. Use the shade preset to warm it back up, or shoot RAW and correct it in editing.
Should I use auto white balance or the presets?
Auto is fine for casual shooting and gets it right most of the time. Use presets when auto keeps missing, like tungsten rooms, sunsets you want to keep warm, or shade.
What is Kelvin in photography?
Kelvin is the unit for the color temperature of light. Low values like 3,200K look orange and warm; high values like 7,500K look blue and cool. Daylight sits near 5,500K.
Can I fix white balance after taking the photo?
Yes, easily, if you shot RAW: the white balance is just metadata and you can change it with no quality loss. On a JPEG you can adjust it, but extreme corrections degrade the image.
Why does mixed window light and lamp light look weird?
The two sources have different color temperatures, so one correction cannot fix both. Balance for the light on your subject, turn one source off, or shoot RAW and balance selectively in editing.