Adjusting White Balance

You can use the White Balance tool to remove unwanted hue from an image. For example, if you take a photo at sunset and the resulting image has a reddish hue, also known as a red color cast, you can use the White Balance tool to remove it.

You can save your settings as a preset for future use.

To Remove a Color Cast from an Image:

  1. In Edit mode, in the Color group, select White Balance.

    2. You can also access the White Balance tool from the Filter drop-down menu or Filter toolbar.

  2. Click an image area that should be white or gray. The color square shows the color of the original pixel on the left, and the modified pixel on the right.
  3. Drag the Temperature slider to the left (more blue) or right (more yellow) to select a specific color temperature.
  4. Drag the Tint slider to the left (more magenta) or right (more green) to match the white balance settings that you selected when you took the photo.
  5. To specify the strength of the white balance adjustment, move the Strength slider. Higher settings remove more of the unwanted color.
  6. Click Done to save your changes, or click Cancel to discard your changes and leave the tool.

You can right-click a slider to reset to the default value.

You can use the Edit Brush to paint this effect onto specific areas of your image.

You can select the Highlight neutral pixels option to create a white balance mask over your image. Whiter pixels represent areas of low color saturation, while darker pixels represent areas of higher color saturation.

If you are having difficulties achieving the desired effect, try clicking an image area that is a different shade of white or gray.

Click Reset to clear your changes and reset to default settings. If you saved your changes, you cannot reset your settings. If you want to discard only the Edit settings, select File | Restore to Developed.

You can use the Gradient tool to transition this effect across specific areas of your image.

You can use the Radial Gradient tool to apply effects around, or directly to, a center point.

See also: