Adjusting White Balance

Use the White Balance group to remove unwanted color casts in images. A color cast is a visible color tint that affects an image. Color casts are usually due to the lighting present when the photo was taken. If taking photos indoors, remove the blue tint or remove the yellow tint that indoor lighting can often give.

Settings can be set as a preset for future use.

To adjust the White Balance in an image:

  1. In the Develop Tools pane, select the Tune tab.
  2. In the White Balance group, do one of the following:
    • Automatically adjust white balance by using the White Balance eyedropper to select a portion of the image with neutral gray pixels.
    • Manually adjust white balance with the sliders as described below.

Right-click a slider to reset to the default value.

White Balance Options

White Balance

For RAW images, select one of the following white balance correction options:

  • As Shot: selected automatically. Applies the camera's white balance setting as stored in the camera when the photo was taken.
  • Auto: adjusts the color temperature and tint to settings automatically determined by analyzing the image.
  • Sunny: adjusts the color temperature to 5500K, approximately that of the midday sun.
  • Cloudy: adjusts the color temperature to 6500K, approximately that of a lightly overcast sky.
  • Shade: adjusts the color temperature to 7500K, approximately that of a heavily overcast sky.
  • Tungsten: adjusts the color temperature to 2850K, approximately that of a household light bulb.
  • Fluorescent: adjusts the color temperature to 3800K, approximately that of a fluorescent light bulb.
  • Flash: adjusts the color temperature to 5500K, approximately that of a camera flash.
  • Custom: allows you to specify a specific white balance, by adjusting the Temperature and Tint sliders. You can also hover your mouse over the image until it turns into an eye dropper, and click an area of the image that is a neutral color (gray).

For encodable images, such as JPEGs, select one of the following white balance correction options:

  • As Shot: selected automatically. Applies the camera's white balance setting as stored in the camera when the photo was taken.
  • Auto: adjusts the color temperature and tint to settings automatically determined by analyzing the image.
  • Custom: allows you to specify a specific white balance, by adjusting the Temperature and Tint sliders. You can also hover your mouse over the image until it turns into an eye dropper, and click an area of the image that is a neutral color (gray).

Temperature

Drag the Temperature slider to the left (more blue) or right (more yellow) to select a specific color temperature.

Tint

Drag the Tint slider to the left (more green) or right (more magenta) to match the white balance settings that you selected when you took the photo.

Strength

Drag the slider to the right to increase, or to the left to decrease the white balance adjustment.

See also: