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Best White Balance Settings for Aerial Photography

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White Balance Settings

In order to ensure that you capture perfect aerial photography, familiarity with appropriate white balance settings is mandatory. While one can edit and transform the images on the computer during the post-production phase, if you get it correct while capturing the image, the result is simply stunning.

White Balance Settings

The information that we intend to share in this post encompasses white balance generally so you utilize this knowledge for both grounds as well as aerial photography. In addition, we will also be sharing three videos at the end of the post that discusses the white balance in detail along with some of the effective white balance settings.

Aerial photography requires that you are able to control the camera gimbal and the camera from the ground. Fortunately, most of the drones that are being introduced in the market are equipped with this feature.

You must be wondering why all the images captured indoors are colored orange or why those captured in the shade appear as an eccentric shade of blue.

In this post, we will be sharing with you the best white balance settings for your camera.

White Balance

It is the way by which the camera recognizes the color of light in a certain scene. Each source of light has its own distinct color and when you capture a still shot, the camera endeavors to neutralize all these colors to present the most natural looking scene. It would something such as this one:

White Balance Settings

There are numerous ways to get the white balance right and in this post, we will be sharing with you some of the options that should assist you in getting the right white balance for your images.

The images shown below have been taken right out of the camera. Except for some sharpening that is required for web purposes, no editing has been done. They have been captured with a Canon 6D and a 50 1.8 lens.

Presets

Presets are an easy way to get the white balance right for a certain scene. You should be aware of the light condition of the scene and it should help you choose the right preset. You should know when it is required to cool down warm light and when one can warm up cool light.

White Balance Settings

Custom White Balance

You can also modify the white balance manually to get a naturally looking image. Having said that, it is harder said than done.

White Balance Settings

In such a case, a neutral item such as a gray card or an expodisc is required. These are handy options in case the light conditions are really poor. Different cameras employ different techniques for configuring the white balance in the right way but more often than not, it is about taking an image with a neutral and then letting your camera know the color that you want to look like in the image.

Keep in mind, however, that if the light conditions get altered, you will have to go back and modify the white balance settings again.

Kelvin Temperature

The white balance can be modified by adjusting the Kelvin Temperature. Kelvin is regarded as a scale for determining color temperature. Cool colors such as Blue boast a color temperature over 7000K while the warmer ones such as orange and red have a color temperature in the vicinity of 2000K.

White Balance Settings

All cameras do not let a user configure the color temperature but if one owns a top quality DSLR camera, one should get an option to adjust it. It requires plenty of experience to ascertain the right light conditions and then choose the appropriate color temperature. There are numerous Kelvin charts that can be found on the internet but a vast majority of the photographers, simply memorize them.

A handy way to learn the kelvin color temperature is to set the camera in live view and then adjust the white balance there and then until the perfect color has been selected. The aim here is to neutralize the temperature of light of the scene.

This means that a photographer should endeavor to set the color temperature high around 7000K in the shade to stay clear of the bluish tones and light. And if you happen to be in a place where the light is yellow, the white balance color temperature has to be set really low.

We would again like to reiterate that the key here is to neutralize the temperature of light.

Now, here is a marvelous video in which Layne Kennedy tells us the different white balance settings for the camera.

This video discusses the white balance in depth and its usage in photography in general.

Finally, this video offers 6 tips that will assist you in comprehending white balance and color temperature and how they can be employed to enhance one’s photography.

 

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