White balance is a tool for shaping the mood and tone of your image. Whether it’s the chill of a winter morning or the warmth of a glowing sunset, white balance offers control over how your viewers feel when they look at your work.
Coming to you from Christian Möhrle - The Phlog Photography, this detailed video dives into three ways to adjust white balance in Lightroom. Möhrle walks through automatic adjustment, using the eyedropper tool, and manual fine-tuning. Each method has its strengths. Automatic white balance can be quick, but it’s not always accurate. The eyedropper tool offers precision by targeting neutral areas like clouds or rocks. Manual adjustment gives you creative freedom, letting you balance temperature and tint to achieve the perfect look. Each approach shows how to fix heavy blue casts in cold scenes, demonstrating the importance of choosing the right method for your needs.
Beyond achieving neutrality, Möhrle emphasizes the creative potential of white balance. In this example, he intentionally maintains a cool color cast for a snowy scene. Instead of aiming for neutral tones, he gently reduces the temperature to preserve the image’s cold, wintery feel while avoiding an overly dramatic blue cast. This subtle adjustment enhances the atmosphere without overdoing it. The takeaway here is that white balance isn’t just a corrective tool; it’s a stylistic choice that can amplify your photo’s emotional impact.
From there, the video expands into additional edits, including exposure, contrast, and local adjustments. Möhrle uses tools like linear gradients to refine specific areas, darkening the sky and adding clarity to cloud structures for a more dramatic look. These steps underscore the importance of balancing global adjustments with localized refinements. The results highlight how combining small tweaks can create a striking transformation. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Möhrle.
