Our eyes are very good at adjusting to different types of light, but cameras are not as flexible.

This means the color of light in a room can affect how skin tones look in a photo.

Different light sources have different color temperatures:

Light Source - Color Tone

Sunlight / daylight ——— Neutral to slightly cool

Shade ——— Slightly blue

Tungsten / incandescent bulbs ——— Warm / orange

Fluorescent lighting ——— Greenish

Your camera’s white balance setting helps adjust for these differences so colors appear natural.

Problems often happen when multiple light sources are present at the same time, for example:

• Sunlight coming through a window

• Indoor tungsten lamps

• Overhead LED or fluorescent lights

Your camera can only balance for one type of light at a time, so when these are mixed you may see:

• orange skin tones

• blue shadows

• greenish color casts

This is why photos sometimes look different from what your eyes see.

Easy White Balance Settings to Try

If you’re using camera white balance settings:

Auto White Balance

Works well most of the time and is a good default.

Daylight / Sunny

Great for outdoor photos.

Shade

Adds warmth when shooting in shaded areas.

Tungsten / Incandescent

Helps correct very warm indoor lighting.

Practice Exercise

Try photographing the same subject:

1. Near a window with indoor lights off

2. Near a window with indoor lights on

Compare the skin tones and color in each photo. You’ll often see much cleaner, more natural color when only one light source is used.

Simple Rule to RememberThe fewer types of light in a scene, the better the color will look.

If skin tones look strange, check for mixed lighting first.

Final Tip

The best way to learn photography is simply to take lots of photos and review them.

Ask yourself:

• What worked well?

• What would I change next time?

• How did the light affect the image?

Every photographer improves through experimentation an