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5500K

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What is this?

White balance adjusts the colors in your photo so that white objects actually appear white under any lighting. Different light sources have different color temperatures — a candle is warm and orange, while shade is cool and blue. Your camera's white balance setting compensates for these differences so colors look natural.

How it works

Color temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) and corresponds to the color of light emitted by an ideal "black body" heated to that temperature. Lower values (2000-3500K) produce warm, reddish-orange light (incandescent bulbs, candles), while higher values (6500-10000K) produce cool, bluish light (shade, overcast sky). The camera's white balance system applies the inverse color shift to neutralize the ambient color cast. When you set white balance to "Tungsten" (~3200K), the camera adds blue to counteract the orange cast from incandescent lights. In digital photography, white balance is applied as a multiplier to the red and blue channels relative to green. Shooting in RAW format preserves all color data and allows you to change white balance freely in post-processing with zero quality loss — it is simply a metadata tag applied during conversion.

Key factors

Color Temperature (Kelvin) — The numerical measure of light color. Low Kelvin = warm/orange light. High Kelvin = cool/blue light. Daylight is approximately 5500K.

Light Source — Different sources emit different color temperatures: candles (~1800K), tungsten bulbs (~2800K), fluorescent tubes (~4000K), midday sun (~5500K), cloudy sky (~6500K), shade (~7500K).

RAW vs JPEG — Shooting RAW lets you change white balance in post with no quality loss. JPEG bakes in the white balance permanently, so getting it right in-camera matters more.

Mixed Lighting — Scenes with multiple light sources at different temperatures (e.g., window daylight + tungsten lamps) make it impossible to perfectly neutralize all colors simultaneously.

Pro Tip

Always shoot RAW if you want full flexibility to adjust white balance later. RAW files store the unprocessed sensor data, so white balance changes are lossless.

Pro Tip

For creative effect, try intentionally "mismatching" white balance. Setting a daylight WB during golden hour makes sunsets even warmer, while a tungsten WB outdoors creates a dramatic cold blue look.

Pro Tip

In mixed lighting situations (e.g., a room lit by both window light and tungsten lamps), use a gray card to set a custom white balance, or gel your flash to match the ambient light source.

⚡Challengebeginner

Your indoor photos under regular household light bulbs look very orange/yellow. Which white balance preset should you use to fix this?

Hint: Household incandescent bulbs emit warm, orange-toned light around 2800-3200K.

Color Temperature: 5500K (Daylight)

2000KWarmNeutralCool10000K

Presets

Red255

Green237

Blue222

Hex#ffedde

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White Balance Visualizer

White Balance Visualizer

White Balance Visualizer