Updated October 13, 2026
White balance defines how the colors in your photos come out, how warm (yellow-ish) or how cold (blue-ish) an image will look. Set it to match the light you are in and your whites look white. I’m Katie Donnelly, a Paris photographer, and here is how to use each white balance setting.
What You’ll Find in This Blog:
What Is White Balance?
I advise to set the white balance manually, so you’ll always have the right color or the color you want. This is especially important when you photograph in JPEG (which most people other than pro photographers do) as you can’t always correct it afterwards. If you photograph in RAW you can easily correct colors afterwards in Lightroom or Photoshop
If it’s too much to switch all of those settings manually, keep this setting at AUTO and generally you’ll be pretty safe.
Most digital cameras give you the choice between these settings: auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, flash, custom/manual. Try them all out to practice and see how each of the settings changes the colors of your photos.
When to Use Each White Balance Setting
- AUTO – Anytime, the camera chooses the white balance for you
- DAYLIGHT – Outside in the sun
- SHADE – Outside in the shade
- CLOUDY – When it’s cloudy outside
- TUNGSTEN – When you’re inside with the lamp lights on (more of a yellow-y light)
- FLUORESCENT – When you’re under fluorescent lighting (the overhead lights in offices and schools)
- FLASH – When you use your flash
- MANUAL/CUSTOM – Anytime, you can play with the colors to get EXACTLY what you want in each situation!
The White Balance Settings I Use
Personally outside I keep my temperature between 5500k and 6500k. Inside it varies a lot but I use 4500k as a starting base.
This lesson is part of The Authentic Portrait: A Parent’s Guide to Documenting Childhood, my photography guide for parents who want to learn the basics and take better photos of their kids, without spending hours and hours taking classes. I am working on a new edition of the guide. Until it is ready, you can read every lesson in The Authentic Portrait series.
Next lessons: what is camera RAW, which lets you correct white balance afterwards, what is ISO, and an instant indoor lighting hack.
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White Balance Questions
White balance controls how warm (yellow-ish) or cold (blue-ish) the colors in your photo look.
Match the setting to your light: Daylight in the sun, Shade in the shade, Cloudy on a cloudy day, Tungsten under lamps and Fluorescent under office lights. If that is too much, leave it on Auto and you will generally be safe.
Outside, Katie keeps her white balance between 5500K and 6500K. Inside it varies a lot, and she uses 4500K as a starting base.
Easily, if you photograph in RAW, using Lightroom or Photoshop. With JPEG you cannot always correct it afterwards, so it matters more to get it right in camera.
About the author
Katie Donnelly, Paris Photographer
Katie Donnelly is an American photographer who opened her Paris studio in 2013 and was voted Best Portrait Photographer in Paris in 2017. She and her English-speaking team photograph families, couples and solo travelers at sunrise, so visitors go home with relaxed, real portraits instead of rushed selfies. Meet Katie and the team.
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