A common problem of product imaging is that colours of the image appear to be different from the actual colours:
• White areas appear grey.
• Colours are more yellowish or reddish

These distortions are caused by a colour temperature of the light used and the way the camera transforms the light into an image.

There are three ways to correct this:
1. Use of daylight balanced lamps
2. Adjusting the White Balance settings on the camera
3. Adjusting the White Balance with software

1. Daylight Lamps

Each light source has its own colour temperature: they contain different levels of the colours blue, green and red. The colours of objects appear to vary when using different light sources. E.g. objects appear to be more yellow under traditional incandescent light bulbs. The colour balance is measured in Kelvin. Daylight has a colour temperature of 5000-5500 Kelvin. Using light bulbs with a similar colour temperature as natural daylight prevents colour distortions.

2. Adjusting the White Balance settings of the camera

With most cameras it’s possible to adjust the White Balance setting. This setting alters the combination of green, blue and yellow used by the camera to reflect the exact "colour" white.

We recommend to experiment with the white balance settings to achieve the best results.

	The results of different white balance settings are shown here. The first image reflects the default setting of the camera.

3. Adjusting the White Balance with software

It’s often necessary to adjust the White Balance on the computer to achieve a perfectly white background. Please note that software can hardly solve issues which are caused by a wrong light source or a wrong camera setting.

Photoshop is the most used programme to adjust the white balance. If you do not have this programme, we recommend that you download the free programme Photoscape v.3.5. (This programme is not associated with our company and we cannot be held responsible for its use. However, we believe that this program is handy to use and is spy ware free.)

Correcting using Photoshop.

	1. Choose from the menu: image > adjustments > levels 2. A screen will pop-up with a graph and three eyedroppers.
	3. Select the right eyedropper and use that to select an area of the image that should be perfectly white. This action will change the white balance of the image. You can repeat this action until you find a correct white
balance. If necessary, you can also use the left eyedropper to select an area which should be solid black.
4. It’s also possible to use the small triangular arrows underneath the graph to adjust levels. It’s also possible to adjust only the colours (channels) red, blue and green. We recommend to experiment with the different options.

Correcting using Photoscape.

	1. Select tab Viewer and chose the image to adjust. Click on the tab Editor. 2. Select from the menu underneath the image Brightness + colour > colour line. A new screen opens with a curve.
	3. Select a pint on the curve and slide it aside. The white balance will change on the image. Often you will need to pick a point high on the curve and shift it slightly to the right side. You can also adjust the individual colours red,
green and blue separately.
4. The same screen also includes an option (separate tab) to adjust the brightness of the image.

	The result of white balance correction with software

	Lighting tips
	Folding the Light Tent
	Cameras
	Photographing clothing
	Photography of flat objects like posters, paintings, etc.
	Pictures from our customers