Make Your Photos Pop with Colour Balance
- Patrick Jarina
- May 7
- 6 min read
Colour balance might sound like a complex photography term, but once you grasp it, it can completely transform how you take and edit photos. Whether you’re an amateur photographer, a travel enthusiast, or someone who loves capturing moments on your phone, understanding colour balance is essential for creating photos that pop. In this guide, we’ll break down what colour balance is, how to fix it in your photos, the best tools and apps to help, and why it’s so important.
What is Colour Balance?
Let’s simplify things. Colour balance is about making the colours in your photo appear natural and true to life. Picture this: when you take a photo, you want the whites to actually look white—not yellow, not blue, just white. Once the whites are balanced, the rest of the colours fall into place.
Different light sources have different colour temperatures. For instance:
Midday sunlight tends to look neutral.
Golden hour light is warm and orange.
Indoor lights may give a yellow or green tint.
Cloudy skies often create a cooler, blue-ish tone.
Your eyes adjust to these shifts naturally, but your camera doesn’t always get it right. That’s when colour balance comes in.
If your photos come out looking too yellow, blue, or just off, it’s usually a sign that the colour balance needs fixing. Whether you're snapping shots on holiday or capturing a cityscape, proper colour balance can bring your images back to life.
Colour Balance vs White Balance: What’s the Difference?
You’ve probably heard both terms tossed around, and while they’re related, they’re not exactly the same. Understanding the difference can help you refine your photography and editing skills.
White Balance is the process of ensuring that anything that should be white in your photo looks truly white. Cameras don’t see colour the same way our eyes do. Whites can end up looking yellow, blue, or even green, depending on the lighting. White balance removes these colour casts and ensures your whites are neutral.
In simple terms, White balance is the technical fix that ensures your whites are accurate.
Colour Balance, on the other hand, is broader. It involves adjusting all colours in your photo—not just the whites—to create a natural, pleasing look. You might warm up a cool-looking beach photo or enhance the blues in a vibrant sky. Colour balance is about fine-tuning the entire image for a visually pleasing effect.
Here’s an easy way to remember it:
White Balance = Fixes whites (technical and correction-focused).
Colour Balance = Fixes overall colours (creative and mood-focused).
In short, white balance lays the groundwork, and colour balance adds the finishing touches that make your photo feel right.
Why Colour Balance Matters
Ever taken a photo that just didn’t look quite right? Maybe the colours were off—too dull, too blue, or too yellow—or the image didn’t feel like the scene you saw with your own eyes. That’s usually due to poor colour balance.
When your colour balance is right, your photos feel more natural, warm, and true to life. Especially in travel photography, where you want to capture the essence of the moment, getting the colour balance right is key.
Imagine snapping a photo of a sunset—the soft orange and pink tones filling the sky—or a misty mountain morning, with cool blue hues. If your colour balance is off, these moments can look flat or fake. But when it’s right, the photo captures the true feeling of being there.
Here’s why colour balance truly matters:
Natural Skin Tones: Proper colour balance ensures that skin tones are realistic and flattering, without any weird colour casts.
True-to-Life Landscapes: Greens stay lush, skies stay blue, and sunsets glow.
A Professional Finish: Good colour balance gives your photos a polished look, even if you’re a beginner.
Emotional Impact: Colour balance helps convey not just what you saw, but how you felt.
Good colour balance isn’t just about making your images look nice; it’s about making them feel authentic.
How to Fix Colour Balance in Photos
Fixing colour balance in your photos is easier than you might think, and it’s a key skill for any photographer or editor. Whether you’re working with a digital camera or your phone, follow these simple steps to improve your colour balance.
1. Start with Auto White Balance (AWB)
Most modern cameras and smartphones come with an Auto White Balance (AWB) setting. It tries to adjust the colours automatically based on what the camera sees. While AWB can get you pretty close, it may not always be perfect, especially in tricky lighting conditions like golden hour or mixed indoor lighting.
2. Shoot in RAW (if possible)
If you're using a camera or smartphone with RAW capabilities, shooting in RAW is a game-changer. RAW files contain all the original colour data, giving you greater control when adjusting the colour balance in post-production.
3. Use Editing Apps or Software
Editing apps make fixing colour balance quick and easy. Here’s how to do it:
Open your photo in a photo-editing app like Lightroom, Snapseed, or Photoshop Express.
Use the Temperature slider to adjust warm vs. cool tones and the Tint slider to adjust green vs. magenta tones.
Make small adjustments until the whites look neutral, and skin tones look natural.
Pro tip: Don’t overdo it. Small adjustments go a long way.
4. Check the Whites and Neutrals
Look for areas in your photo that should be white or neutral, like a shirt, a wall, or even the clouds. If these areas look too warm (yellow/orange) or too cool (blue), it’s a sign the overall colour balance needs correction.
5. Use Presets Carefully
While presets and filters can enhance the mood of your photo, they may mess with the colour balance. Always double-check that the whites look true to life and skin tones aren’t distorted by the preset.
Best Colour Balance Apps and Tools
You don’t need expensive gear to fix your colour balance. Plenty of apps and tools can help, whether you’re editing on your phone or computer. Here are some of the best colour balance apps and tools:
1. Snapseed
Free – iOS and Android
Snapseed is a popular app that’s both powerful and easy to use, making it perfect for beginners.
Quick adjustments for white balance, temperature, and tint.
Selective editing to adjust specific parts of your image.
Great for travel photos, especially when editing on the go.
Free with optional premium upgrades – iOS & Android
Lightroom Mobile is an excellent tool for both beginners and more advanced users.
Offers precise colour control and powerful preset options.
Great for RAW files, giving you complete editing flexibility.
Syncs seamlessly with the desktop version of Lightroom.
Free – iOS, Android, and Desktop
A simpler version of Adobe Photoshop, ideal for quick edits.
Easy-to-use sliders for quick colour balance adjustments.
Auto-correction tools for one-click fixes.
Perfect for fast edits before sharing on social media.
Free & Paid Versions – Online & Mobile
Fotor is a handy tool for on-the-go editing.
Offers one-click colour fixes and manual temperature/tint adjustments.
Ideal for batch editing multiple photos.
Great for quick edits before posting on social media.
Free with Paid Upgrades – Web, iOS & Android
Best known for graphic design, Canva’s photo editor is also useful for basic colour balancing.
Simple controls for temperature and tint adjustments.
Ideal for creating social media posts or photo collages.
For more advanced desktop editing, consider using:
Adobe Lightroom (Classic or CC) for professional-grade colour grading.
Capture One for in-depth adjustments, especially great for skin tones.
Colour Balance Skin Tones Naturally
Getting skin tones right is crucial, especially when photographing people. Skin is one of the first things we notice, and getting it wrong can make your photo feel off.
Here are some simple tips to balance skin tones naturally:
Use Neutral Areas as a Guide: Look for areas that should be neutral, like the whites of the eyes or teeth, to gauge whether the colours are off.
Adjust Tint for Green or Purple Tones: If skin looks green or purple, adjust the tint slider to correct it.
Adjust Temperature for Orange or Blue Tones: If the skin looks too warm or too cool, use the temperature slider to balance it out.
Zoom In and Look Closely: Check for any patches of unnatural colour on the skin. A balanced skin tone should look soft and natural.
Final Thoughts on Colour Balance
While colour balance might seem daunting at first, it’s one of the most valuable tools in your photography kit. Whether you’re adjusting a travel photo, portrait, or everyday shot, understanding colour balance helps you create images that are not only visually appealing but true to life.
With the right tools and a little practice, you’ll find that adjusting colour balance becomes second nature, improving the quality of your photos and helping you tell your visual story in the best possible way.
Happy shooting!
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