White balance explained: Kelvin, camera presets and using a grey card

What is colour temperature?

Adobe explains that different light sources sit at different points on a colour temperature scale, measured in Kelvin. Lower temperatures are warmer, towards red, orange and yellow, like incandescent bulbs or a sunset. Higher temperatures have a cooler, bluer cast. Your eyes adjust to these changes automatically, but a camera has to be told, either by you or by its automatic setting.

What Kelvin setting should I use?

Match it to the light. Adobe says the correct setting for a scene depends on the colour temperature of the light. Nikon UK lists typical values for common camera presets:

Adobe gives 5,600 K as the industry standard setting for daylight, but calls it just a starting point: a sunny day can differ from an overcast one, sunrise and sunset are much warmer than midday, and artificial lights range from warm incandescent to LEDs close to daylight.

Auto, preset or custom?

• Auto (AWB). Adobe calls it a great choice for beginners, and says your camera is likely good at reading the ambient light and adjusting on its own.
• Presets. Adobe quotes a videographer who recommends starting with a preset, like daylight or tungsten, and adjusting manually from there.
• Custom, with a card. Adobe suggests setting it yourself in tricky lighting that can fool the camera.

How do you set white balance with a grey card?

A grey card is a neutral reference. Adobe explains that a grey card is a specific shade of grey made to be completely neutral, which makes it easier for the camera to read the light. A white card works in a similar way, and Adobe says any pure white object can stand in for one.

Adobe’s method is simple: place the grey card in front of the camera while it is in custom white balance mode and take a few shots. Menus differ between makes, so check your camera’s manual for the exact steps.

Whichever method you use:

• Avoid mixing light sources. Adobe quotes a videographer saying that mixing sources makes it hard to find your balance, and suggests using one source or matching all lights to the same temperature.
• Aim for consistency. Adobe suggests keeping set, lighting and camera consistent to cut down the time spent correcting colour later.

Can you fix the colour balance afterwards?

To an extent. Adobe says most digital cameras can shoot raw, which leaves a lot of room to adjust in editing, but recommends getting as close as you can in camera to save time later.

Questions people ask

Where White Balance helps, and where it does not

White Balance is our Android app for photographers and filmmakers. Fill the square with a grey or white card under your light and it shows the colour temperature in Kelvin, live, with the nearest preset: Tungsten, Fluorescent, Daylight, Cloudy or Shade. It fixes the camera white balance, and on phones that share RAW sensor data it reads the card before any correction. It works on your phone and needs no account. The free version gives the live reading, presets and warnings. A one-time Pro unlock adds gel tips (CTO and CTB), green and magenta tips, Compare two lights, saved readings, calibration and clean reading cards. There is no subscription.

The app’s own tip: calibrate once against a light with a known rating, then check with a test shot.

What it is good for: a Kelvin number for your camera, the gel that matches one light to another, and spotting a green or magenta cast before it reaches your footage.

What it will not do: phones differ, and a few do not let apps fix white balance, so on those the reading is rough and the app says so. For critical colour work, a dedicated colour meter and test shots are still the reference.

Questions or bugs: Email us.

Sources

1. Understand white balance in filmmakingAdobe · adobe.com
2. The beginner’s guide to White BalanceNikon UK · nikon.co.uk