Ten Things You Will Want to Practice Shooting in Summer

By Mike Panic
#photographyeveryday #photographyislife #photographylover


Whether your summer is ending or just beginning, it is always a great time for photography. Summer means good times with friends and family, outdoor activities and vacations.  It's also a great time to practice shooting different and new subject matters.


Here are ten things you will want to practice shooting in the summertime that will make you a better, more well-rounded photographer.

1. Blue Hour

Goran Vrakela

The blue hour refers to the small window of time that occurs just before sunrise each day and just after sunset.  It can provide some of the most stunning landscape photos you've ever taken, but some careful planning is required.  Check out this blue hour website to see what time the window is open in your part of the world, get your tripod and go shooting!

Lars_Nissen_Photoart

Capturing the blue hour can be difficult – not to mention that if you elect to shoot in the predawn then you'll be getting up at “stupid o'clock”.
Here are the basics for shooting the blue hour and what you'll need:

• A sturdy tripod
• Shutter release
• Shoot RAW
• Shutter speeds of 1 to 2 seconds
• An aperture of f/8 or f/11

Of course, this is a guide – experiment with your settings to get the image you want

Further Reading:

• How To Focus In Low Light For Impressive Blue Hour, Night, And Astrophotography
• Why You Should Be Photographing Your City At Blue Hour
• Set That Alarm Clock: Capturing The Morning Blue Hour

2. Macro

Anthony

Blooming flowers make for some of the best subject matter for macro photography, so take advantage of the vibrant and fun colours as different varieties change through the summer season.

Егор Камелев

Macro photography isn't easy but it is rewarding. Ritesh Saini wrote a piece for us that highlighted five fantastic and free ebooks that cover everything you need to start with macro photography
Here they are, but also read the piece in full:

• Short Guide to Macro Photography
• How to Use Flash When Shooting Macro
• Using Extension Tubes to Get Started in Macro
• Close Up and Macro Photography
• The Art of Focus Stacking

3. Texture

Paulo Carvalho

Shots like the one of this pool show how important texture is to photography.  Look for subtle details like how light reflects and refracts off and through the water for impressive photos like this one.
Understanding textures is one of those advanced composition techniques that will take your photography further. If you would like to start making advanced composition choices, then take a look at Kent Dufault's excellent guide to Advanced Composition.  In this guide, you'll discover concepts such as:

• Why the human eye is attracted to light objects over dark objects
• How to train your mind to simplify composition for professional results
• Why the use of repetition is so important
• How to tell a story through graphic elements
• Why your choice of aspect ratio can vastly affect a viewer’s reaction to your photograph

Advanced Composition is definitely a guide that you will want if you are ready for the next level

4. Colours

Tirachard Kumtanom

So many of us travel during the summer, often to different countries where commonplace things like a bright blue door are new and inspiring to us, like in this photo.  Stark white building with a bright blue door or yellow shutters is probably something different from what you see at home daily, so take a minute and frame out the shot capture that moment.  Beautiful colours make for amazing photographs

Tom Fisk

When opposing colours meet in a single composition, contrast is achieved in the most magnificent ways. When adjacent colours – like an array of warm or cold tones are together without an opposing hue – low levels of contrast are achieved.
Creatively selecting colour when composing your images will take them to the next level. It is definitely a composition technique that you should work with.

Further Reading:

• How To Create Amazing Compositions Simply By Using Color
• Try Using The Color Red In Your Next Photography Project
• How To Add More Color To Your Images

5. Rainbows

James Wheeler

A perfect case for always taking a camera with you wherever you go, rainbows can often come at the most unplanned times.  You might even get lucky and find a pot of gold while you're out shooting (that'll pay for the next lens)!

Alex

You'll need three things to take brilliant photographs of the next rainbow you encounter:

1. Polarizing filter – this will ensure you get the desired look or intensity you are after
2. Tripod – will help your composition and the low light you might encounter
3. Remote release – for a sharp image

If you want to know more, take a look at Sheen Watkin's great article How To Photograph Rainbows

6. Carnivals And Festivals

Engin Akyurt

Carnivals and festivals tend to travel throughout different countries during the summer months and with them come great fun and good eats.  They are also a great source for photography buffs, as is the case of this great long exposure shot of a whirling people machine.  Bright lights, fast action and lots of fun are great subjects and will help further your memories of the trip.

Trung Nguyen

Fireworks are also usually a summer staple. So have a look at these tips to get you started:

1. Use a Tripod
2. Always use a Cable Release
3. Aperture = F11 – Work wider from this point
4. ISO = 100
5. Shutter Speed = 4.0 Seconds (use Bulb mode)
6. Focal Length 35mm (Crop Sensor) as a starting point
7. Do some homework and planning. Enjoy the show!

If you want to dive really deep into the art of fireworks photography, then you might want to get a more in-depth guide. The best around is Richard Schneider's ebook on the topic so take a look at it here.

7. Waterfalls And Rivers

Daniel Wallace

Hiking in the summer is how many people enjoy the outdoors.  Often along the hikes are beautiful waterfalls, as shown here.  Another case to bring the tripod along, a few ND filters and work on some beautiful waterfall or moving water shots.

Sergey Pesterev

Just remember when taking beautiful photographs of waterfalls or rivers to:

• Use the lowest ISO possible to reduce noise in your photos
• Choose an aperture between f8 and f11 for sharper images.
• Experiment with different shutter speeds.  Try speeds from a few seconds to a few minutes to get the right effect.

Further Reading:

• 6 Quick Tips That Will Have You Capturing Dreamy Long Exposure Photos
• 5 Tips For Capturing The Magical Beauty Of Waterfalls
• Photography Basics: How To Photograph Waterfalls And Rivers

…Oh and don't forget the beach

 Sean O.

Ok, so this is an obvious photographic opportunity in summer. If you are going to enjoy your photography at the beach, then it is worth noting that you should try to time your picture-taking to say early morning or evening when you can take advantage of golden hour!

Nuno Obey

If you can't make golden hour, you can still capture the beach in all its glory, but a pro-tip is you need to expose for the very brightest part of the scene and ensure that you get those areas covered. You can generally recover the shadows in post-processing whereas if an area of the highlight is burnt out in the exposure; you’ll never see it again.

Further Reading:

1. Dos And Don’ts Of Photography At The Beach
2. Tips To Capture Beautiful Seascape Photographs
3. 7 Quick Tips For Better Beach Photography

8. Silhouettes

David Hofmann

We focus so much attention on subjects that sometimes using them as filler for the photograph is overlooked. Here's a great photo of how silhouetting creates a very dramatic photograph.  Perfect to do on those long summer nights.
If you are into creative silhouettes, then you definitely need to check out these three free guides from Photzy as these guides will help you to achieve beautiful silhouette images in no time!

• Artful Silhouettes
• Contrast for Creativity
• Shooting Silhouettes

9. Grilling

Min An

Grilling is something most everyone enjoys doing, or the by-product of grilling, the food.  Beautiful colours and great memories can be had photographing food, while it's cooking or during plating.   Think of how great these vibrant photos would look framed in your kitchen.

mustafa türkeri

Top tips for your food photography:

1. Natural light is your friend – it will make your barbeque dinner look appetizing
2. Use a wide aperture – f/1.8-f/5.6 – this will give you a lovely blurred background
3. It is all about composition – fill your frame with your grill or leave some negative space on your table. Be creative!

Further Reading:

• Bite Size Tips: Amazing Food Photography Primer
• 3 Free Food Photography Guides To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing
• 8 Tips And Tricks To Improve Your Food Photography

10. Underwater

Jeremy Bishop

Underwater cases for DSLR cameras, watertight bags and a new breed of waterproof point and shoot cameras now enable us to capture stunning photos where we never would have before, at a fraction of the price.  Long gone are the days of horrible waterproof disposable film cameras with mediocre photographs.  Get out there, get wet and go capture some great photos in the water!

Egor Kamelev

Further Reading:

• How To Photograph Underwater Using A Mirrorless Camera
• 7 Best Underwater Camera Housings
• 5 Steps To Taking Powerful Underwater Photos

Summer is one of the most beautiful times of the year, anywhere you live or travel to, and hopefully these 10 things will help you further your photography and keep shooting.  Share in the comments what you've captured this summer already or what you are preparing to shoot this coming summer!

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 Another free Photograpy Ebook. Enjoy!





Here's the link to this weeks Photography Freebie.  Just copy and paste it into your browser, click enter and it's yours.

http://toasterdog.com/lifehacker/lifehacker_night_school_basics_of_photography.pdf

How to Choose the Correct ISO Setting for Your Shot

By Mike Panic
#photographyeveryday #photographyislife #photographylover

ISO can be confusing, especially to everyone just starting out in photography. To put it simply, the ISO setting in your camera affects how sensitive the sensor is to light.
If you love mathematics, you can immerse yourself in the technical information on Wikipedia – it is quite good.  But, we won't be delving into the maths here. In this article, we will focus more on choosing the right ISO setting for your specific shot. 

Pok Rie

The correct ISO can make your photo; the wrong ISO can ruin it.
ISO on most cameras starts at 100, some cameras begin at 50, but the lower the number, the less sensitive to light, the higher the number, the more sensitive.  While that seems pretty straight forward, there is a price to pay as you go higher in the ISO settings, digital noise. 
Something to remember is that High ISO film has visible grain, and this may be somewhat desirable for photographers.  On the whole, digital noise, the equivalent to grain for digital photographers is not a welcome addition to photographs.

Unlike most settings in your camera, like shutter speed and aperture, changing the ISO probably won't be noticeable when you review images on the LCD.  The digital noise will show up when you view and edit your photos on a computer. Ideally, you want the lowest ISO setting possible for the least amount of noise, but in any given lighting situation that's not always an option.

Ricardo Esquivel

What is ISO on a Camera?

ISO denotes film or an image sensor's ability to capture light and is a factor that helps with taking well-exposed images. It is a measure of the camera's ability to capture light, whether darker or brighter depending on the value you choose.
For example, you can check this on your camera – increasing or decreasing the ISO value, keeping other factors constant can make the image brighter or darker. It is one of the factors that affect exposure (besides aperture and shutter speed) in an image if you know and understand the exposure triangle. 
When it comes to film, ISO is an indication of the light sensitivity of the film. Film is coated in light-sensitive layers of silver halide crystals. The larger the crystals, the more light-sensitive and therefore quicker the film – but this, in turn, means more grain. Finer crystals mean lower sensitivity to light and, as such, less grain. A lower ISO film will have virtually unnoticeable grain. 

Pedro Sandrini

ISO is somewhat different in digital cameras; here, the light that falls on the sensor is converted into electrical signals for processing. So increasing the ISO value will amplify the signal. The lower the ISO, the less digital amplification which means, less boosting of the light leading to minimal digital noise. With an increase in ISO, the amplification increases and, as a result, this causes more noise that can, at higher values, degrade image quality.
So you should only increase the ISO in situations where you cannot increase the exposure via aperture and/or shutter speed.

Mihai Vlasceanu

What is the Purpose of ISO?

The purpose of ISO is to get the exposure right for sharp and creative photography.
For example, by increasing the ISO for a given scenario, you can:

1. achieve faster shutter speeds to freeze motion,
2. gain a larger or deeper depth of field to get more of the scene in focus,
3. shoot handheld in lowlight conditions,

But, you may have to compromise on image quality when you choose higher ISO values such as:

1. loss of dynamic range,
2. increased noise 
3. colour degradation

ISO decreases or increases the brightness of a photograph, depending on the value we choose.

Helena Lopes

How to Choose ISO?

ISO  is helpful when you are shooting at different lighting conditions more importantly in low light. Increasing the ISO will also introduce noise in your images – the higher the ISO, the higher the noise with a corresponding decrease in image quality.
Digital cameras perform well at low ISO values, produce accurate colours, smooth images and sharp details. Shooting at low ISO values is only possible if there is enough light to compensate or when you are taking long-exposure photographs. But, when you want to shoot wildlife, sports and other fast-moving subjects, or if you have low light conditions, you will need a faster shutter speed. This is when you will want to increase your ISO to have a faster shutter speed for correct exposure so you can eliminate blur due to movements. 

Nizam Abdul Latheef

So how should you choose ISO values? Here are some suggestions for handheld shooting without a flash. Each camera performs differently at higher ISO values, so test your camera before using high ISO values.

• When you are shooting in bright light, you have a lot of light available so choose lower or the lowest ISO value. Stay between 100 to a maximum of 200
• When shooting landscapes or long exposures during the day, shoot at ISO 100 or below depending on the native ISO values available. You can choose a low ISO because you will have your camera on a tripod. The low ISO value will ensure that when you print your images, they will look great at any size. 
• Even on a bright day, you may need to increase the ISO to about 200 to 400 sometimes to shoot with the correct shutter speed for sharp images. Scenarios would include shooting in the shade or shooting wildlife, especially birds and animals in shady areas of the trees
• On cloudy or overcast days, you will have less light compared to bright sunny days. So choose a slightly higher ISO value. A maximum value of 400 should be more than enough, but then it also depends on the aperture value and shutter speed you will require.
• When shooting indoors in natural light, you are again dealing with the available light. So depending on the intensity of the light source, you will need to think about your ISO value. If you are shooting in direct bright light, you can use between 100 to 400, but if it is indirect, diffused light, you may want to go up to 800. 
• Low light conditions are a different beast. Lighting conditions such as indoors at night, events, outdoors at night, etc., will need a higher ISO. If you are using aperture values like f/1.8, you can start with ISO 800. Depending on light conditions, you may want to use about 1600, or even above, to get the exposure right. 
• Setting higher ISO values should be considered as a last resort in situations where you want to capture the photo and need a higher ISO for that situation. 

Monique Laats

The above suggestions can vary with the focal length and aperture used. Note that, each time you double the ISO, the camera only needs half the amount of light to make the same exposure. So for example, if you got a shot at ISO 100 and shutter speed 1/250s, then at ISO 200 you can shoot the same image at 1/500s provided that you do not change the aperture value.
When using a tripod, if your shooting scenario is good for long exposure, then go for the lowest ISO possible. When it comes to night sky photography, you may not be able to work with very low ISO values like 100 or 200 as you want to eliminate star trails. So based on your shutter speed, you will have to do test shots and choose the lowest ISO that will help you get correctly exposed images. Remember different cameras with different sensors, respond differently to ISO values.

Mike Chai

So how high can you go with ISO values? 
Setting the correct ISO value is trial and error. Test which ISO values get you the shot you are after. Use higher ISO values when you want to freeze actions or avoid camera shake due to slow shutter speed when hand-holding the camera. But as much as possible, always use the lowest ISO for any situation. Wherever possible, keep your ISO lower or, if possible, use base ISO and shoot using a tripod.

What is Expandable ISO?

In recent years, digital cameras are being manufactured with a specification called expandable ISO. So, what is expandable ISO? 
A camera's sensor has a range of ISO values within which it will produce good to acceptable quality images – this is called the native ISO. But, there are times when photographers may want to go beyond the native range or extend/expand it – for example, requiring more light in very dimly lit situations. Some cameras come with an option to expand the native ISO by a stop or two, so the amount of light recorded by the sensor increases. For example, if the maximum native ISO value on a camera is 6400, the expanded ISO will be 12800 aiding with doubling the amount of light reaching the sensor. 

slon_dot_pics

Note: Similar to extending beyond the highest native value, there are also options to go below the native ISO value of 100 or 200 in most cameras. This does not degrade the image quality by affecting the colours, or dynamic range like the higher ISO values do.

How Does Expandable ISO Work?

The camera digitally expands the native ISO value by metering the light for the highest native ISO value and then it amplifies that data for the expandable ISO value. This is done digitally via software and not hardware. There is a considerable trade-off to this feature, which is poor image quality with a lot of noise, inferior colours, and loss of dynamic range. So as much as possible, try to stay within the native range. But in case you need that important photo and need to expand the ISO, then make use of this feature – a noisy photo is better than no photo.
To understand the above concept even better – think of the native ISO and expandable ISO like optical zoom and digital zoom on a camera.

Asad Photo

To Wrap It All Up

Sunny days, outside, ISO 100 will be wonderful. If you are noticing a lot of detail in the shadow area of your photos with your naked eye that you aren't seeing when you review files on the LCD on the back of the camera, bump the ISO up to 200 or even 400.
Indoor photography can be tricky, artificial light combined with natural light coming through the windows can result in constant monitoring and adjusting the ISO level.  What looks excellent at ISO 400 in one room might require ISO 800 in the next place.
If you're using a tripod, use the lowest ISO setting possible.  You can get away with a longer shutter speed because the tripod will stop all motion blur of the camera.
Using a flash can help keep the ISO low and your photos noise-free in a lot of situations.  Likewise, if the depth of field isn't a concern for you, opening up the aperture will allow more light in, giving a lower ISO option.
When shooting at particularly high ISO settings be mindful of proper exposure.  Post-production of high ISO shots that weren't properly exposed to the best of your ability start to fall apart.  Particularly when adjusting the exposure or contrast levels, digital noise is enhanced, often resulting in an unpleasing image.
Noise isn't always bad, though!  One of the most brilliant aspects of film noir styled photographs is the grain in them.  Low key black and white images with lots of grain can be a good thing if they are exposed well, and the subject matter holds up to it.

Aleksandar Pasaric

The key to choosing the correct ISO is determining what factors need to be appropriately emphasized.  Most people strive for little to no digital noise. So shooting at the lowest ISO is usually the best bet – unless a film noir style is more for your liking.   
Since no guide can give you exacting settings, I suggest you bracket shoot ISO in a number of scenarios. Then you can compare the photos in post-production so you can best see what happens with your particular camera.  ISO is one of the few things you can't correct in post-production because you shoot in RAW mode too. If you accidentally take photos on a sunny day at ISO 3200, you are going to have lots of digital noise. 

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An In-Depth Look at How ISO Impacts Your Images

by Marc Schenker
#photographyeveryday #photographyislife #photographylover
 

ISO is a term that every photographer, from amateur to pro, has heard of. Surprisingly, though, some photographers are still unfamiliar with all of the different ways that ISO affects their pictures.
One of the three factors that affect your exposure (together with shutter speed and aperture), ISO is something that has to be mastered if you want to take great photos each time. ISO relates to the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor. It usually begins at 100 and will double to your camera’s limits: 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 and so on. There are 1/3 stops in between.
Some photographers even have fears about increasing their ISO too much. Instead of living with this fear, learn how ISO really affects your pictures.

Lower ISO = Better Images… in Some Cases

It’s a widespread belief that a lower ISO will result in better pictures that are more appealing to your viewers because they’re sharper and clearer. This is true for the most part, but there are very significant exceptions that apply, which you have to understand to get the best shots in all photographic conditions.
In general, a lower ISO will always produce better images in these situations:

• Controlled lighting conditions in a studio
• When using a tripod
• With a lot of natural light
• With a constant aperture and shutter speed

However, consider other situations when these four elements aren’t in play. Then, a lower ISO won’t give you better photographs. That’s a fact. Actually, when you pump up your ISO in other situations, you’re going to get much better results than with a lower ISO.

When to Use a Higher ISO

The key here is knowing when to use a lower or higher ISO. It’s a mistake to assume that a higher ISO should be avoided. It can be instrumental in getting a great shot in the right conditions. That’s because increasing your ISO means you can raise your shutter speed and use a smaller aperture (actually increasing your aperture number). Together, these two settings done right are more instrumental to a technically awesome photograph that looks impressive than a low ISO.
For instance, have you ever looked at event photographs—concerts, award shows, banquets, receptions, anything indoor, etc… and admired how bright and attractive those images turn out to be? It’s more than just having top-notch equipment like lenses and flashes. It’s because they’re really turning up the ISO to high levels in order to capture all of the natural light in the scene.
Noise exaggerated to illustrate ISO noise.Consider also the advancement of camera technology in the last, few years. The increased graininess of pictures that feature a higher ISO is not as stark and intense as it used to be with older cameras. Newer cameras have turned down the intensity of the graininess of images at a higher ISO, and they’ve also made that graininess less displeasing to the eye. A great example is the Sony A7s – its low-light and high ISO performance is astonishing!
That’s why event photography and low-light conditions – such as night photography for outdoor concerts and nighttime carnivals – are excellent opportunities to now harness the effectiveness of a higher ISO to produce amazing images.

Exposure and ISO

Since exposure is another of the key players in how a picture turns out, it only stands to reason that you’ll have to harmonize your exposure with your ISO. One of the biggest dilemmas that photographers can face is what they do in postproduction. You’ll destroy the look of the grain in your images when you – and you’ll have to – increase the exposure in postproduction. The key is taking care not to raise the exposure too excessively.
Therefore, raise the exposure only a moderate amount in postproduction, but the higher you’ve increased the ISO, the more important it is to be very watchful during postproduction.

Different ISO Ranges for Different Scenes

It’s necessary to ensure you’re working within the correct range of ISO for the specific scene you’re shooting. As we’ve explained, ISO can work well if it’s lower or higher, all depending on the specific situation and context of your photography.

1. 100 to 200

   ISO at these settings is perfect for daytime shooting because the abundance of natural light ensures you don’t need to mess with the ISO at all. If you up the ISO any higher, keep in mind that very noticeable grain will begin appearing in your shots, which is very avoidable when you have this much natural light to work with in the first place.

2. 200 to 400

   Slightly raise your ISO if you want to get stellar pictures in conditions that are a bit darker. These will include instances like indoor shooting in brightly lit rooms and outdoor shots in the shade.

3. 400 to 800

   This range is ideal when you have to shoot indoors with a flash. This helps to create a more balanced exposure that also features a more detailed background.

4. 800 to 1600

   Event photographers already know that they have to work within this range because of the nature of their job. Live events like concerts, sports games and shows routinely take place in low-light conditions where a flash isn’t permitted.

5. 1600 to 3200

   This more extreme range is also good for event photographers shooting live shows. It’s also ideal for very low-light situations where having a tripod isn’t an option. Essentially, this range is the highest you can go before the grain or noise becomes too unpleasant.

6. More than 3200

   If you have to set your ISO to this extreme level, then it’s likely because you have exceptionally low-light conditions, or you’re just going for a really artistic look in your shots. In either case, you’re going to have a grainy result (which is not necessarily a bad thing!)

Using ISO Wisely

Knowing how to set your ISO and for what conditions is the difference between a picture that’s great-looking and one that has exposure problems. Depending on how you use your ISO, you can give yourself a whole lot of freedom in photography since you have the ability to put yourself into so many different shoots.
There are situations when a low ISO is called for and other instances when a high ISO is the way to go. The trick is being able to identify them and set your ISO accordingly. When you do, you’ll turn out splendid shots each time.

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How to Set Your White Balance Manually

By Mike Panic
#photographyeveryday #photographyislife #photographylover

Most recent cameras, whether DSLRs or mirrorless, come with a feature called white balance that can be set manually depending on the light conditions that one is shooting. Some compact cameras may have that feature too if they have a manual mode for shooting photographs. White balance is important because we don't want a warm, cheerful scene to look cold and bleak. Nor do we want a cold scene to look artificially tinted with warm colours.
 

Markus Spiske


In this article, we'll cover how to properly set a custom white balance manually in your digital camera.  Before we begin, let's look at what white balance is in photography and why you need it set it up correctly. 

Here Is A Brief, Easy To Digest Explanation.  

White balance is how warm or how cool the colours look in your photographs. Usually, the camera reproduces colours the same way they look in real life. 
For example, even on a bright day, the light is a bit blue when your subject is in the shade. Our eyes don't register this because our brain is very good at dealing with colour casts, processing the information and making it look white to us. But our camera will pick up on this colour cast. 

Min An

Similarly, indoors under fluorescent or incandescent lights, we don't see much difference in white colour, but the camera sees it. This is what is called the colour temperature and balancing these colours to make the white look natural is adjusting white balance.
Note: Balancing the white colour means, adding warmer tones to cooler light and adding cooler tones to warmer light to make the white look natural.

Vladyslav Dukhin

Light sources emit colour in different temperature ranges, and it is measured in units of Kelvin.  For example, the direct light from the sun has a different temperature than light in the shade. Similarly, light from a fluorescent lamp will have a different temperature compared to tungsten or incandescent lights, and so on. So, natural light is cooler, while tungsten and candlelight are warmer. Fluorescent light can give a green colour cast. 
Note: Warmer lights have low Kelvin values, whereas cooler lights have higher Kelvin values. 

Zain Ali

Here Is A Direct Example To Explain Kelvin:

Street lights typically emit an orange colour to them, when you take photographs with your digital camera in auto mode, the orange gets exaggerated, and the result isn't so pleasing. This is typically considered warm lighting.

Muffin

On the other end of the spectrum is cool lighting and favours the blue/white Kelvin spectrum.  The new Lexus, BMW, Mercedes headlights all have this white/blue light to them.

Mike

In both examples, light is the final result, but the colour is different.  
Similar to the above examples, indoor incandescent bulbs cast an orange colour while candles cast an orangish-red glow. Likewise, when the sun is not up in the sky, the blue sky looks very blue and photographs taken in the shade look blue too. 
The reason for this is, different light sources emit different amounts of red, blue, green colours and the scattering of different wavelengths of light is the reason for the colours – for example, the reason why the sky is blue is due to the diffusion of blue light off air molecules more than any other wavelengths of light.
In days gone past when film ruled, it was much more lenient towards these particular colour shifts, and two main types of colour film existed, regular and tungsten.  While you could use gels in extreme cases, these two film types satisfied the needs of most everyone; digital sensors, however completely changed the game.

Aleksandar Pasaric

So, What Does Setting White Balance Do, And Why Should You Do It?

Setting white balance helps the camera to establish what is white in the scene and then set the colours more accurately for the photos taken in that scene, under that lighting situation. Setting white balance is very important when shooting in tricky light conditions, such as a mixed lighting scenario. Your shot might have artificial light indoors combined with natural light from a door or windows. Setting your white balance in this scenario will ensure you get accurate colours in your images. 
Cameras come with inbuilt white balance presets that are good to go most of the time, for a single type of light in a scene, but in situations where there are multiple light sources, the camera gets confused, and that is when you need to set the custom white balance. 
Moreover, if you are shooting jpegs for some reason, custom white balance is the way to go as fixing white balance when post-processing is not always possible with jpegs. Even if you are shooting RAW, it is best practice to get the white balance correct in camera.
Almost all digital cameras come with a handful of presets for white balance, each usually has an indicator to get you in the round-about territory of where you should be, plus auto which isn't great all the time. 
Here are the most common camera presets for white balance:

• AWB – Auto White Balance, where the camera sets the white balance based on the light in the scene. Most of the time, it is accurate, but there are times when the camera gets confused. So using auto white balance should be limited to situations when you do not have enough time to set the auto white balance for specific shots or lighting conditions. Examples include event and wedding photography where you cannot spend time adjusting the white balance for all the different lighting conditions as it will lead to the photographer missing the most critical moments of the event or wedding.
• Daylight – the camera usually adds warm tones when this preset is selected. So it is best to use this preset when the sun is bright enough as otherwise, it can cast a blue colour in your photographs. 
• Cloudy – the camera adds slight warm tones to the images when the sky is completely covered with clouds because the light on overcast days is a bit cooler. There are times when shooting sunset or sunrise may not reproduce the vibrant colours in your pictures, similar to what you see at the location. You can use this preset, so it adds warm reddish tones to your photographs.
• Shade – the camera adds warm tones to the images as otherwise, photographs shot in the shade using auto white balance may end up having blue tones. Also, if you are looking for warmer colours in daylight, you can use this white balance preset.
• Tungsten – the camera adds cool tones to the images as the tungsten light usually adds warm tones. So using this preset adds cool tones to bring down the bright yellow or orange colour casts these lights create in a scene.
• Fluorescent – the camera adds warm reddish tones to the photographs since these lights emit cool light.
• Flash – the camera adds warm tones to the image as the light from a flash is cool. Use this preset only if the flash is your only source of light. If not, you will need to use custom white balance settings.

White Balance Preset Menu for Nikon

White Balance Preset Menu for Canon

Here are some sample images shot under various white balance settings to get an understanding of how different white balance values affect colours in the image:

Thomas Steiner

Vassia Atanassova 

Before going on to custom white balance, you could always try the different presets to see if these work for the light conditions that you are shooting in. 
If one preset does not work for a particular light condition, depending on whether you are looking for warmer or cooler tones, you can use the white balance preset above or below to adjust the colours. The preset modes are great when you are 100% sure of your lighting, but how often can that be?  
Setting your preset to Sun mode or daylight, for example, doesn't account for the light change from the early morning, high noon and late afternoon.  Likewise, most homes have multiple different temperature bulbs, that makes it near impossible to use a preset to get an accurate white balance. Especially with portraits and when shooting people under other light conditions, we want the skin tones to appear natural unless you are going for a creative look or feel in the image. 

Italo Melo

The goal for white balance is to achieve a neutral and accurate portrayal of what the naked eye sees and to represent that in your photography. Most of the time, auto white balance or one of the presets works fine, but there will be times when the camera gets confused by the light conditions, and you will need to instruct it to see what is white in the scene. 
Setting a manual white balance, often called a custom white balance is way easier than most people could ever hope it to be.  
You'll want to shoot using custom white balance in any situation that you cannot control the light sources you are using. This will also be helpful in scenarios where there is more than one light source, and you have to use them both while photographing.

• Custom White Balance – the photographer sets the white balance depending on the light in the scene. You tell the camera what is white in the scene so the camera can adjust all the colours in the scene and reproduce the correct colours.

How Do You Set Custom White Balance?

Setting up custom white balance involves taking a photo of something white or mid-grey in the same light where you will be shooting your subject. You then select the camera's custom white balance mode and set it to use the photo of the white or mid-grey thing as reference. Follow the steps below on how to set this up, and this applies for any image.
Note: Refer to the camera's manual if you need help with getting into the white balance menu for your specific camera. Also, most cameras will have a WB button at the top or back of the camera, if not there, then at least white balance menu in the shooting menu.

This is what you see when you press the WB button on a Nikon. Rotate the front or back wheel for custom white balance presets or inbuilt camera's white balance presets.

• Take a photograph of something white in the same location under the same light you intend to shoot. Make sure it is shot at the right exposure, and it covers a large area of the frame or completely. This could be a wall or ceiling, fabric, paper, card or anything white or grey, and it will be used as the reference photo to set white balance manually.
• Then go to your camera's shooting menu, choose white balance settings and select custom white balance or, press the WB button on your camera and turn the dial until the custom white balance icon is displayed. 
• Select the image you just photographed (something white or grey under the shooting light) by pressing the set button. The “Set” button is usually the “OK” button; if not, you will be guided on the screen.
• Set your camera's White Balance setting to Custom.
• Now the white balance for the light you will be shooting under is set for your camera and you should get good results for that lighting situation. All the images shot in this lighting scenario in this location should turn out neutral with natural colours and should not have a colour cast. If anything in the scene changes, for example, a background, more light sources or colour of light, you will then need to set the white balance again following the steps above.
• If you move to a different lighting scenario, repeat the same steps above.

Set Custom White Balance – Nikon

1. Go to the shooting menu
   
2. Choose “Preset Manual” to set custom white balance
   
3. Select one of these
   
4. Select the image shot with grey to set for custom white balance
   

Set Custom White Balance – Canon

1. Choose custom white balance

2. Select the image with the white or grey area

3. Choose OK to use white balance data from this image

4. Click set again

There's no magic; it's that easy! 
There is one secret, though. You want your white or grey area to be where your focal point is.  That is to say, the model above is holding it directly over their face; that's what is important.  If you, the photographer, are standing 15 yards away and hold the grey card in one hand, camera in the other and shoot it, the light falling on the grey card for which you make your custom white balance setting could differ from what falls on your subject.  You must get the grey card into the frame with the subject!
Note: The bonus to doing a custom white balance, resulting in more neutral and natural colours is the total decrease in post-production work you'll have adjusting for improper white balance settings.

What If I Don't Have A Neutral Scene?

If you do not have a grey card or anything white or neutral in the scene, you can go the trial and error route. Use the Kelvin scale and depending on the light used, use manual values to increase or decrease the values in the Kelvin scale to set the white balance manually. Take test shots to get the most accurate white balance values. You can also use this as a way to creatively use white balance to add mood to your images. 
Choosing Kelvin values for setting white balance:
For Nikon: 
In the Shooting Menu -> Choose White Balance -> Choose colour temp. 

Adjust the temperature according to your lighting situation

For Canon: 
In the shooting menu, choose Kelvin scale adjustment

Here is a rough idea of the values to look out for:

Bhutajata

And here is a handy table to use as a guide:

Candlelight	1000 – 2000 K
Tungsten Bulbs	2500 – 3500 K
Sunset and Sunrise	3000 – 4000 K
Fluorescent Lamps	4000 – 5000 K
Flash	5000 – 5500 K
Daylight	5500 – 6500 K
Midday	6000 – 7000 K
Overcast Day	6500 – 8000 K
Shade or Cloudy	9000 – 10000 K

We hope that this overview of white balance and how to set custom white balance has been helpful.

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