Avoid This White Balance Trap: Essential Tips for Accurate Colours!

As we venture into the beautiful world of outdoor photography, one critical aspect we can't afford to overlook is white balance. It's the secret ingredient that ensures our landscapes display accurate and stunning colours. However, let's not ignore the common white-balance pitfalls that can trip us up along the way. In this blog post, let’s dive into these challenges and share some down-to-earth tips on how to conquer them, so your landscape shots pop with true-to-life colours.

Mixed Lighting: When Nature Plays with Lights

The Challenge: Picture this: You're standing in a breathtaking landscape, capturing the golden hues of a sunset, but the automatic white balance on your camera just can't seem to keep up. That's because mixed lighting conditions are notorious for wreaking havoc on colour accuracy. With sunlight, shadows, and perhaps even artificial lighting sources in the mix, the camera's auto mode might struggle to capture the true essence of the scene.

The Solution: To combat this, try playing around with custom white balance settings. You can use a trusty grey card or an ExpoDisc to create a reference point for accurate colour reproduction. If you're a post-processing wizard, shooting in RAW format will allow you to fine-tune the white balance later, giving you complete control over the final result.

Changing Environments: A Journey of Colours

The Challenge: As landscape photographers, we often find ourselves chasing the perfect shot across various environments. From the vibrant greens of a forest to the rugged terrain of a mountain peak, each location presents its unique lighting challenges. Automatic white balance can struggle to adapt swiftly, leading to inconsistent colours throughout your photo series.

The Solution: The key here is to keep an eye on your camera's white balance settings. Take a moment to switch between presets or experiment with manual adjustments as you move from one environment to another. By maintaining a vigilant approach, you'll ensure that the colours in your landscape shots remain harmonious and cohesive.

Sample image below of RAW White Balance

When Mother Nature Gets Creative

The Challenge: Landscape photography allows us to capture the beauty of natural phenomena, such as sunsets, storms, or misty mornings. However, these extraordinary lighting situations can pose challenges for white balance. Your camera's automatic settings might try to neutralise the scene, resulting in the loss of warmth and ambience that drew you to the scene in the first place.

The Solution: In these moments, don't be afraid to trust your artistic instincts. Feel free to experiment with different white balance settings to preserve the unique mood and atmosphere. Remember, it's all about capturing the essence of the landscape and conveying your creative vision, even if it means deviating slightly from strict colour accuracy.

Sample image below of Adjusted RAW White Balance

Post-Processing Predicaments: Editing with Care

The Challenge: When it comes to post-processing, white balance adjustments can make or break the final outcome. Overdoing it may result in unnatural-looking landscapes, while incorrect adjustments can introduce colour banding or unwanted artefacts.

The Solution: To avoid these pitfalls, take the time to understand the white balance tools in your chosen editing software. Make subtle adjustments while referring back to the original lighting conditions for guidance. Work with RAW files whenever possible, as they retain more colour information and offer greater flexibility for precise white balance tweaks.

As landscape photographers, we strive to capture the stunning colours of nature in all their glory. We can proactively address white balance woes by acknowledging the challenges posed by mixed lighting, changing environments, unique lighting situations, and post-processing adjustments. Remember, white balance is a tool to enhance our art, so feel free to experiment and trust your creative instincts. With a little know-how and a touch of finesse, you'll elevate your landscape photography to new heights, showcasing nature's beauty in all its true-to-life colours. Happy shooting

What are your hints and tips on this topic? Let’s continue the conversation below!