The white balance can make or break an image. All of these images are straight out of the camera with no adjustments at all.All Digital SLR cameras give the photographer the opportunity to change the white balance to best fit each lighting situation. I find with my camera, my auto white balance works pretty well in most situations. I have a friend who has the same camera, and her auto white balance is not very good. When photographing people or important items, I custom white balance my camera for that lighting situation.
Play with your camera and find out which settings you prefer for various lighting situations.
The following are an examples of outdoor floral photography using all the white balance buttons. The little flowers were photographed in full sun, and the white flower was photographed in full shade.
AUTO WHITE BALANCE
TUNGSTEN
Use this setting when the majority of the light is coming from regular light bulbs.
FLUORESCENT
Use this setting when photographing under fluorescent lights.
DAYLIGHT
This setting has a bluish normal color. It is a great setting for studio lights.
FLASH
Almost identical to cloudy but sometimes redder depending on the camera. Use this setting for the little on-camera flashes.
CLOUDY/SUNSET/TWILIGHT
It’s a little warmer than the daylight setting and best for most shots outdoors in direct sunlight, under overcast, twilight or shady conditions
SHADE
Very orange. This is perfect for shooting in shade, since shade is so blue. It’s also for shooting when you are under a cloud on a partly cloudy day since most of the light is coming from the blue sky. It’s also for shooting in backlight, again since the subject is lit more by the blue sky instead of the direct sunlight.
CUSTOM
[...] “eye” level with the subject). My camera setting is ISO 100, F-13, 1/80 sec & the white balance was [...]