A Note on Color Balancing
Our eyes are able to adjust to different conditions of light so that objects keep what is known as their "true" color. For example, if you look a ball that is blue you can see the same blue shade both indoor and outdoors or when the sky is sunny or cloudy.
Every different type of light condition will amplify a particular color in the color spectrum. What you see as a white color really only can be seen on a clear day during noon hours. If there is sunlight in the late afternoon or early evening everything will appear as though it has a tint of red to it. On cloudy days more of the blue colors from the color spectrum will appear.
Artificial light will also have a certain color cast to it. For example, incandescent light will appear yellow while florescent light will appear to be either green or blue.
Each of these different conditions of light will affect the way color balances on pictures. This means that you will want to find a used camera that works effectively for the types of pictures that you want to take.
Digital cameras will usually let you adjust the balance of color for each type of light condition. You will be able to do this manually or by using the automatic settings. Keep in mind that automatic settings can create uneven results from one photo to the next.
Manual settings can be used by choosing a preset which can include "cloudy" or "sunny". You will have to fine tune these settings so that they match each condition of light.
The balancing of colors is reached by an adjustment of the camera so that the color white is really the color white. After you have set the camera so that it correctly creates "white" all of the other colors will look correct in what is their natural shade. You can ensure that this is so by looking into the viewfinder of the digital camera and holding up a white piece of paper. This will let you tell whether or not it's the right shade of color or not.
Some digital cameras can also be preset in this way: hold a piece of white paper up to the viewfinder; choose "auto correct".
Keep in mind that presets are only guidelines for you to follow and might not be correct for each light condition that you encounter. For instance, if you have a camera setting for florescent lights you might still need to adjust things further so that you get the right balance of color.
Try to get the correct balance of color while you're taking your photos. However, you can always adjust the color in an image at a later time by using software. Although this option shouldn't be an alternative to correctly balancing the color ahead of time you can use it when you want to create some great effects on your pictures.
There is some computer software that will automatically adjust the color of your images as well as adjust the contrast and the brightness. Begin with the basic auto settings since many times the results can be quite good.
A basic understanding of physics and color can help you manually adjust the color of your pictures if you need to whether you are using a new camera or have invested in an older model. Color is composed of three primary colors: blue, green, and red. There are three further colors that are known as "subtractive primary colors". These colors are the result of taking away one of the primary colors while the remaining two are combined together. These three subtractive colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow.
If you have an understanding of how colors mix together you can correct any color imbalances within your pictures. If an image appears to be too red you can adjust this by adding cyan so that the color is naturalized.
You can also use software to adjust the intensity of color. Imaging software will let you create great photos from bad ones.
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