White balance can be corrected in a post-processing program
Different colors have different temperatures, measured in Kelvins. For example, a sunny day has a Kelvin temperature of 5,500 degrees, while a tungsten light has a temperature of about 2,700 degrees. Digital cameras "see" white, gray and black as neutral colors and attempt to make all the accompanying colors accurate relative to these neutral colors, within a particular light situation. This is white balance. If there are no neutral colors, or the camera is not set properly, the white balance will be incorrect, making the other colors inaccurate. In that case, the white balance can be corrected using a computerized post-processing program.
Instructions
1. Open the photograph in one of the raw processing programs. There are several of these, and while they may differ slightly, they all employ the same basic procedures.
2. Go to the white balance section of the program.
3. Click on the drop-down box that lists different light conditions, like cloudy, sunny, tungsten, etc. Make sure the preview box is checked, so the changes will be shown as they are made.
4. Click on the condition most like the one in the photo. If it was taken on a cloudy day, click on "Cloudy." This should improve the picture.
5. If you wish to make a further correction, move the temperature slider and watch the picture change.
6. Move the tint slider for further correction. Watch the colors change as you do so.
7. Click on the eyedropper tool. This is located somewhere on the toolbar.
8. Locate a neutral gray or other neutral color in the photo. Click the eyedropper on that color. This should change the colors to most accurately reflect the actual colors.
Tags: neutral colors, white balance, balance corrected, Click eyedropper, further correction
