White Balancetechnical

Tells the camera what 'white' looks like so colors stay neutral under different light.

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Tungsten ↔ Daylight ↔ ShadeNeutral

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Warm white balance — The same scene rendered cool vs warm — white balance shifts the whole colour cast.

Cool white balance — The same scene rendered cool vs warm — white balance shifts the whole colour cast.

Light has a color temperature — tungsten bulbs are orange, shade is blue. White balance corrects for it so whites look white. Auto works most of the time; presets (Daylight, Cloudy, Shade) give consistent, often warmer results. Shoot RAW to change it freely later.

Use this when

Sunny day: Daylight (~5500K)
Overcast / shade: Cloudy or Shade (warmer)
Indoor bulbs: Tungsten (~3200K)

Common mistake: Leaving Auto WB on for a sunset, which 'corrects' away the warm color you wanted.

RAW vs JPEG Color Temperature

White Balancetechnical

See it

Compare real photos

Use this when

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