White Balance

Do you know what white balance is? It is actually an electronic compensation for the colour temperature related to the lighting conditions and to ensure that white light is properly stored in the medium.

In digital cameras, did you notice there is a function called white balance? It is actually an electronic way of compensation for the colour temperature. In different lighting conditions, white light should be properly stored in the imaging chip so that the colours can appear natural in your photo.

This is a basic reference of colour temperature in kelvin temperature

By using the picture as reference, you could actually roughly know what kelvin temperature belongs to what kind of light colour.

2500K- very strong orange tungsten light
2800K- strong orange tungsten light
3200K- yellowish tungsten light
4500K M6- flourescent light (most flourescent tubes are green even though our eyes don't see it)
5500K- flash
6500K- daylight (or daylight-balanced flourescent light)
9900K- strong blue stage lighting or evening light

If you happen to have xenon light (although it is rare) at your surrounding,the white balance should be between 7000-9000K.

It is advisable to adjust your white balance whenever you enter a new situation or environment that has different white balance. Just set your Kelvin white balance again and test with one shot. You should be able to do this with practice.

This is a basic reference of colour temperature in kelvin temperature

In some cameras such as the Sony A300/ A350/ A450/ A500/ A550/ A560/ A580/ A33/ A55/ NEX-3/ NEX-5, you can use Live View and see the effect of changing Kelvin WB... live!

M = Magenta
G = Green
2500K = Blue
9900K = Amber

First take a picture to check the photo. If the picture is very green, you will need to add the opposite colour which is magenta. If the picture is too blue you need to go closer to amber. So if the picture is very blue-green-ish, you will need to go closer to 9900K M9.