White balance

[donkeymusic]

Could someone explain th use of white balance to me and how i should be checking it when taking photos?

thanks

 

[arclight]

Different types of light (daylight - sun & shade, tungsten, flash, fluorescent etc) cause a colour cast on pics. The WB control compensates for this and corrects the image to make the pic look more natural (as our eyes see the scene).

Most times you can set the WB to Auto. If the pic does not look right then, if your camera permits, set the WB to match the type of light in which you are shooting.

That is a very simplified explanantion. Reams have been written about the subject.

 

[donkeymusic]

that makes sense i was aware of that but had forgotten to check that, but thanks for the reminder, i think what i was really thinking of was the histogram, any ideas?

thanks

 

[arclight]

Histograms are rather difficult to explain purely in text.
Have a look here:-
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml

 

[arclight]

There is a post on histograms further down the page.
It has some weblinks.