Adjusting the white balance of digital photographs is the process in which the color balance is corrected. The goal is to have the colors in the photo look the same as their real counterparts. The color correction is done by balancing the neutral colors (white or gray) to a certain value, hence the name of the technique.
The most obvious demonstration of incorrect color balancing is the appearance of a color cast over the whole photograph. These casts are related to the color temperatures of the available light sources. Those of lower color temperature (incandescent lighting or sunny sky) tend to produce the yellow casts, while those of the higher temperatures (fluorescent lighting and cloudy sky) are usually responsible for the blue cast.
Using automatic white balancing is sometimes the cause of this problem. While it may work well in the outdoors, the results are not as good when you get inside. And since it tries to guess the color cast, the balanced colors are not usually the best. This is because the objects inside a photograph may confuse the guessing algorithm. Like when a photograph is full of blue elements, the automatic white balancer will make the photo more warm, which is not desired.
The camera doesn't recognize the different light sources. The automatic white balance acts indifferently with all photos. This is the main reason we may need preset white balance settings. These preset settings correct the colors based on the color temperature of the specified light source. While automatic white balancing may still be useful, the ability to identify the light source yields better results.
The preset white balance options arranged in ascending order according to the color temperature are Tungsten, Fluorescent, Daylight, Clouds, and Shade. Despite the names, these settings are far from giving an optimum color balance too, but still, they can be used to tune it. When your photo seems too cool (blue) in your LCD viewfinder, use a setting of higher color temperature to make it warmer. The same goes to the other way around with settings of low temperatures sources making the photos cooler..
A custom white balance mode, if available, is the best way to get optimum results using your camera by just pointing it to a neutrally colored surface. In advanced cameras, taking pictures in the RAW format gives you the flexibility to adjust the white balance later, as the on-camera settings are ignored.
While using the correct white balance is usually desired, deliberately cooling or warming your images may sometimes yield nice effects too. Doing so, you will be able to change the mood of your picture instantly. So, give it a try.
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