How to Fix White Balance in Adobe Lightroom: A Comprehensive Guide

When capturing photos, maintaining accurate white balance is crucial for capturing true colors. Adobe Lightroom offers a variety of tools and methods to adjust white balance. This guide will walk you through the process of fixing white balance in Lightroom, ensuring your photos are as close to reality as possible.

Common White Balance Presets in Lightroom

If you're looking for a quick fix, Adobe Lightroom offers several presets for common lighting conditions. Try the following presets:

Daylight Tungsten Shade As Shot Auto Cloudy Flash Fluorescent

These presets can often provide a satisfactory color correction, but they may not always meet your exact requirements.

Adjusting White Balance Slightly More Precisely

If the presets do not fully satisfy your needs, you can manually adjust the white balance. Here are the steps:

Identify a neutral area in your photo. Neutral tones should be around 92% brightness and middle gray in color. Select the White Balance eyedropper tool from the Adjustments panel. Click on the neutral area in the photo. This will set the white balance based on that specific color. If the result is close but not entirely accurate, adjust the Color Temperature and Tint sliders: The Color Temperature slider controls the cyan/red balance. The Tint slider controls the magenta/green balance.

Custom Color Profiles for Maximum Accuracy

If you need a more precise and consistent color rendition, consider creating a custom white balance profile for your camera. This involves using a reliable non-metameristic white balance target and custom profile software.

Non-Metameristic White Balance Target

Metamerism is the phenomenon where the same color can appear differently under different lighting conditions. A non-metameristic target, like the Xrite 24-patch Color Checker, ensures that the target color remains consistent across various lighting scenarios.

Creating a Custom Profile

To create a custom profile, you will need the following tools:

A reliable non-metameristic white balance target, such as the Xrite 24-patch Color Checker. Software to create the custom profile for your camera. The Xrite ColorChecker Passport kit includes this software and a target, with a price tag of around $99.00 USD.

Calibrated Display for Better Results

A well-calibrated display is essential for accurate color representation. Investing in a reliable calibration tool can significantly improve the quality of your photography workflow. Here are some options:

Xrite i1 Display Pro: A trusted tool for display calibration and profiling. ColorMunki Display from Datacolor: Another popular choice for calibration and profiling, with the Spyder 5 Elite being a top option.

In conclusion, fixing white balance in Lightroom is a straightforward process that can be adjusted through presets, manual calibration, and the use of custom profiles. To achieve the best results, ensure you have a non-metameristic white balance target and a calibrated display. With these tools and techniques, you can achieve a well-balanced and accurately depicted image.