Can Lightroom’s white balance picker use white or black areas, or only gray?
Asked 1/23/2011
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In Lightroom 3, the white balance picker in Develop asks you to click something that should be neutral after correction. I don’t have a gray card, so I’m wondering whether I can use an area that should be white or black instead of mid-gray.
Does Lightroom’s picker work with any neutral tone as long as the RGB values should be equal after correction, or is it meant specifically for gray? Also, is there any reason to prefer one neutral tone over another when setting white balance non-destructively in Lightroom?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
6
You must take a sample from a place that should be neutral, not something that already is.
It can be anywhere you know to be perfectly white. The best is a white-reference card inserted into the photo but if you have fabric or other object known to be truly white, you can use that instead.
Lightroom will then compute how to make the selected color neutral white and adjust colors accordingly. Due to the way these things work internally, it will be more accurate if you choose something relatively bright but not close to being over-exposed.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — Lightroom’s white balance picker is for any neutral target, not specifically mid-gray. If the area you click should be neutral after correction, meaning its RGB channels should be roughly equal, Lightroom can use it whether it’s white, gray, black, or any neutral tone in between.
In practice, a light neutral area usually works best. A known white object can be a good choice, but avoid highlights that are close to clipping, because blown or nearly blown channels are less reliable. Likewise, very dark neutrals are usually a poorer choice because shadow noise can make the color reading less accurate.
So the best target is a neutral area that is:
- known to be truly neutral
- reasonably bright
- not overexposed
- not deep in the shadows
That’s why a gray card is convenient, but it isn’t required. A white reference card or another object you know is truly neutral can work well too.
The white/black point eyedroppers in tools like Curves are doing more than white balance alone, so they’re not directly the same thing.
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