White balance decides whether the colours in your photo look warm or cool, measured in kelvin. Move the colour temperature from 1000K to 12000K and you see your photo shift, so you know which value suits your light.
Click a preset to see what that setting produces. Values are based on factory defaults.
Common light sources
| K | Light source | Character | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.000 K | Candle flame | orange-red, very warm | |
| 2.000 K | Candlelight / oil lamp | warm gold, atmospheric | |
| 2.700 K | Incandescent bulb (E27) | standard household | |
| 3.200 K | Halogen / studio lamp | warm white, classic studio | |
| 4.000 K | Cool white fluorescent | neutral work light | |
| 5.000 K | Daylight (sunny) | midday sun, direct | |
| 5.500 K | Electronic flash / D55 | factory default flash | |
| 6.500 K | Overcast daylight | sRGB white point, neutral | |
| 7.500 K | Open shade | cool blue, soft shadows | |
| 10.000 K | Clear blue sky | cold blue, high sun |
Click a row to jump the slider to that value.
White Balance & Colour Temperature: how it works
This tool shows you exactly what colour temperature does to a photo, from the cold blue end of 1000K all the way to the warm orange of 12000K. Use it when you're learning how white balance works, or when you want to check whether a specific Kelvin value fits the mood you're going for. Drag the slider and see the result immediately.
What colour temperature actually measures
Colour temperature describes the colour of light, expressed in Kelvin. Low values (around 2000-3000K) produce warm, orange-tinted light, like candlelight or a sunset. Higher values (5500-6500K) sit closer to daylight, and above 7000K the light becomes increasingly blue, the kind you get under an overcast sky or in open shade.
Your camera's white balance setting compensates for that light. Set the white balance too warm in already warm light and you push the image into exaggerated orange territory. Too cool, and everything drifts towards blue. Knowing which Kelvin value corresponds to which light source lets you make that compensation intentionally rather than by guesswork.
Setting white balance when it actually matters
Most photographers leave white balance on auto, and it holds up well in straightforward conditions. Mixed light is where it falls apart. Think fluorescent office lights combined with daylight coming through a window. In those situations, locking in a fixed Kelvin value you've deliberately chosen gives you far more consistent results.
If you shoot RAW, white balance can always be adjusted in post without any quality loss. Shoot JPEG and the in-camera setting has a much bigger impact on what you end up with. If you want to dig deeper into how colour behaves across your image after editing, the Colour Analysis tool is a useful next step.
Frequently asked questions
Which colour temperature should I use when shooting in shade?
Open shade typically falls between 7000K and 8000K. Setting your white balance in that range neutralises the blue cast that shade introduces, giving you a more natural result without heavy editing.
Why does my photo look different from what the tool shows?
The tool applies a colour temperature shift to a neutral reference image. Your own photo already has an existing white balance, a specific exposure, and its own colour cast, so the effect in practice will differ slightly from the preview.
Can I fix white balance in post if I forgot to adjust it on set?
Yes, but only without penalty if you shot RAW. With JPEG you're adjusting already-processed data, which tends to show up as noise or colour banding, especially in shadows and saturated areas.