White Balance
Different light sources have different colour temperatures. For example daylight has a colour temperature of approximately 5500 Degrees Kelvin (K) which gives light a blue colour and indoor lighting has a colour temperature of around 3200K which gives light an orange colour. When shooting in a digital format you have to essentially tell the camera “what colour white is.”
Most cameras have two preset settings one for outdoor and one for indoor. These are generally fine to use but it is advisable to do a manual white balance when you have multiple light sources such as a mixture of daylight and indoor (tungsten) lighting. It is also worth noting that the colour temperature of daylight changes throughout the day, so if you are filming outside from sunrise to sunset it is advisable to do a white balance several times during the day.
Procedure for taking a white balance.
- Switch camera on.
- Hold a piece of white paper in front of the lens so that it is reflecting the light of your location. (If you are filming an interview for example, make sure you place the piece of white paper where the interviewee will be sitting.)
- Zoom in with your camera so that piece of white paper fills the screen completely.
- Press the auto white balance button on your camera usually illustrated with the symbol below. Often the colour temperature in Degrees Kelvin (K) is displayed.
