How to Balance Conflicting Light Sources When Shooting Interiors

The human eye has the ability to blend the color of light sources in a manner most take for granted. Film and digital sensors, on the other hand, render light based on wavelength, so prints made from images will show the effects of the light used. Photographing an interior using available light can include daylight through windows and artificial light from incandescent, fluorescent and other types of bulbs. Several strategies exist for dealing with multiple sources.

Instructions

1

Learn the nature of the light sources you may encounter. Generally, daylight is the standard for color balance in film and digital sensors. Incandescent sources shift to the yellow and red end of the spectrum, while fluorescent bulbs are green compared to daylight. Many artificial lights are marketed as "daylight." In some cases the claim is valid and artificial light will be close to light coming in windows.

2

Experiment with the white balance settings on your digital camera. Automatic white balance gives a good general average in most cases. While still balanced toward daylight, this setting will produce the most neutral result on most single-lens digital cameras.

3

Use black-and-white as a way to remove the need for color balancing, if your final result is suitable as a monochrome image. While both digital sensors and black-and-white film will respond differently to each light source, those differences manifest as subtle tone variations that are rarely noticeable.

4

Use a tripod for long exposures using only one type of light source. While this isn't a true balancing solution, in a case where uniform color balance is required it may be your only solution. Often there is enough daylight through windows to give diffuse illumination throughout an interior, but exposure times of several seconds may be needed. At night, using one type of artificial light and setting your white balance accordingly may work in a similar manner.

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