How can I batch white-balance photos in Lightroom without using Auto?
Asked 4/5/2016
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2 answers
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I want to edit many photos in Lightroom so they have a consistent, roughly neutral white balance, without relying on Auto WB. The eyedropper works for a single image, but when I sync it across a batch it applies the same exact WB values to every photo, which looks wrong if the lighting varies.
Is there a good way to batch white-balance photos while keeping results natural and consistent? Can Lightroom offset each photo’s existing WB by a fixed amount, or is the better workflow to group images by similar lighting and sync settings within each group? I’m shooting Canon, and I’d also like to correct a slight cool/blue cast.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
1
If you have 200 images, you don't need 200 different white balance setting unless the temperature of the lighting also changed 200 times. Since you shot RAW (you did right?) the WB setting you initially chose matters very little (although as proven on this site, it matters a bit). Just select the images that were shot in the same lighting, perhaps 40 images, choose an appropriate WB and sync that to the remaining 39 images of that set. Do this a few times and you are done.
In response to you comment, if you are shooting JPEGs you really need to nail WB in camera and stop shooting in Auto. If it's too late for that, the process in LR doesn't really change but you will simply have far less latitude to make white balance modifications. To choose an appropriate white balance, use your knowledge. Was the room incandescent or florescent lighting? If so use that to start as a base WB and adjust from there. Auto isn't as bad as people make it out to be, it can be decent to start in certain conditions if you don't know what else to do. This is a deep topic I won't get completely into. Using a dropper can be effective if you know how to use it. Using a grey card or expodisc is another option. Trust me, it's all possible, I'm color blind and figure it out just fine!
Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4892
10y ago
0
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The practical Lightroom workflow is to batch by lighting conditions, not by trying to add a fixed WB offset to every image.
If the photos were shot in the same light, they usually do not need unique white-balance settings. Pick one representative image, set WB manually to a neutral-looking result, then sync that WB to the rest of that lighting group. Repeat for each different lighting situation.
Why your synced eyedropper result looks wrong: syncing copies the exact Temperature/Tint values from the lead image. That works only when the light is consistent.
If lighting changed a lot, split the shoot into smaller groups first. Auto WB and the eyedropper can both be inconsistent, so many photographers simply adjust visually on one image and sync from there.
If you shot RAW, this is much easier and gives plenty of latitude. If you shot JPEG, white-balance changes are much more limited, so you really need to get WB close in-camera; large corrections can hurt color quality.
So: group similar images, set one good WB per group, sync within each group, and avoid expecting one global batch adjustment to work across mixed lighting.
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