4 White balance techniques
Light is an interpretive tool in the hands of a photographer. He
can make it harsh or soft, revealing or concealing, fl attering
or libelous. The more he knows about the versatility of light,
the easier it is to cope with any picture-taking situation he
encounters.
—Peter Gowland, 1960
Most of us think about daylight as the “proper time” for making
photographic exposures, and many photographic opportunities
at night or late in the day are often overlooked. They shouldn’t
be, but even all colors of daylight are not the same. Most people
look at The Golden Hour and see the beauty of the subject, no
more and no less. You’ll hear people offer comments such as,
“The sunrise was just beautiful,” or, “Look at the golden glow
in that portrait,” or maybe, “What a romantic sunset.” To work
successfully in low light, we need to know more about the nature
of light so we can digitally capture images that others merely
give a fl eeting look.
