Operation Manual

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 12 CLASSROOM IN A BOOK 125
Adjusting the white balance
e white balance presets can help you to rectify a color cast caused by lighting
conditions. You could correct the white balance of a photo shot on an overcast day,
for example, by choosing the Cloudy preset. Other presets compensate for artificial
lighting. e As Shot preset uses the settings recorded by your camera, while the
Auto setting recalculates the white balance based on an analysis of the image data.
1 Switch between the presets in the White Balance menu, comparing the effects
to the default As Shot setting. In the following pages you’ll discover why setting
the appropriate white balance is so important to the overall look of the image.
2 For now, choose As Shot from the White Balance presets menu.
For many photos, the right preset will produce satisfactory results or at least serve
as a basis for manual adjustment. When none of the presets takes your image in the
right direction, you can use the White Balance tool ( ) to sample a neutral color
in the photo, in relation to which Camera Raw will recalculate the white balance.
e ideal target is a light to medium gray that is neither discernibly warm or cool.
In our sample photo, the weathered wood is a potential reference, but we can prob-
ably be more certain that the steel fencing wire in the background is a neutral gray.
3 Zoom into the image by choosing 100% from the Zoom Level menu in the
lower left corner of the image window, or by double-clicking the zoom tool.
Select the Hand tool ( ) and drag the image downwards and to the right so
that you can see the thick wire to the left of the girl’s hat.
4 Select the White Balance tool ( ), right beside the Hand tool in the tool bar.
Sample a medium gray from the center of the wire where it crosses a relatively
dark area. If you see little effect, click a slightly different point.

Note: Incandescent
lighting typically causes
an orange-yellow color
cast, while fluorescent
lighting is notorious for
a dull green tint.
Auto preset Daylight preset Fluorescent preset
E
Tip: In some images
it can be difficult to
identify a neutral tone;
in the absence of a
definitive visual refer-
ence you may at times
rely on what you know
about the photo: that it
was taken on a cloudy
day, for example, or
under fluorescent light-
ing. It may help to look
for references such as
white paper, clothing, or
paint, and then sample
a shaded area.