Get Whiter Whites

As the laundry detergent commercial asks, "Do your whites look dull and dingy?" Can the same be said about the images of your artwork? In this article, I'll explain how to get whiter whites (and without using detergent).

White Is Not Always White
All light contains color, and the color of a light source is similar to the color of metal heated to a particular temperature. As metal is heated to higher temperatures, its color changes gradually from “red hot” to “white hot”.

Color temperature is the term used to describe the color of light and the relative proportions of yellow and blue in it (the "white balance"). Light from an incandescent bulb has a lower color temperature with more yellow in it. Direct sunlight has a higher color temperature with more blue in it.

The brain automatically adjusts to a wide range of different light sources so that we perceive a white sheet of paper as white regardless of the color temperature. As a result, we don't usually think about the color of light.

... Because The Camera Never Lies
But a digital camera records the actual color of the light. The white balance setting on your camera must match the light source to reproduce colors accurately. This setting tells the camera how to adjust for the color temperature of the light and avoid an undesirable color shift to yellow or to blue in the image.

If you photograph artwork hanging in a gallery and the camera's white balance is set to "daylight", the whites will look "yellowish" because the incandescent lights in the gallery have a lower color temperature (more yellow). The upper half of this example shows the result. Similarly, if you photograph a piece of artwork outside and the white balance is set to "tungsten", the whites will look "bluish" because sunlight has a higher color temperature (more blue). This effect is shown in the lower half of the example.

An image with the correct white balance will have accurate color as well as neutral whites and greys.

Get the White Balance Right
Fortunately, the problem is easily fixed ... no detergent needed. Just find the instruction manual for your camera and learn how to set the white balance. Then remember to check it each time you photograph at a different location and change the setting, if necessary, to match the light source. If you aren't sure which setting to use or are photographing in mixed lighting (a combination of sunlight and interior light, for example), then set the white balance to "automatic". With this setting, the camera will try to figure out the best white balance and you'll be close.

So I'll end my version of the commercial with this tagline, "To avoid the embarrassment of dingy colors in your images, get the white balance right for whiter whites."

And click here to learn more about color temperature in the Learning Center at ShootMyArt.com™.

(The artwork “Lilies” is used by permission of Candace Law © 2001.)