This guide is going to detail all of the things I have learned about night photography and white balance and how to struggle less in post and how to shoot consistently.
Changing your white balance in camera allows you to have consistent control over the colours in the images. This is especially important when you are wanting to create a series of images from an evening that have the same feel if they are being presented together or if you want to create a video/timelapse from your still images.
Northern Lights
Back in May of 2013 I learned the importance of not shooting in auto white balance at night while shooting the Northern Lights. I was attempting to shoot a timelapse or series of still images that I was going to create a video out of after. So I set my settings and then turned my drive mode into continuous shutter so I could lock my wired remote and sit back and enjoy the show. I was keeping an eye on the back of my screen as the image that was taken would flash for a split second before the camera started to take the next shot. I noticed that the image was a slightly warm colour and not what the previous images were, so I stopped my shots.
This is what I saw. Only 2 images in this set of images are edited with one of them edited to the cooler colour tone I prefer.
My auto white balance had detected some cool tones and warmed up my colours.
Ever since then I have been paying more attention to my white balance at night. Sure I can change it in post but especially when you are going to be using the images for an application like a timelapse video, you really need to keep the colours consistent throughout. There is a subtle difference between the colour temps in camera and when you change them in post. I can never get the pinks I want from lightroom white balance adjustment like I can with my in camera white balance.
So lets talk about actual settings now. This is where preference comes in. For me, I really really dislike lime green so Northern Lights can be a struggle for me because of that green. I have found I really love the colours that WHITE FLUORESCENT gives. Some camera brands call it warm white fluorescent (Nikon). It is the light bulb that looks like a bar with the spikes pictured below. It is approx 4000K in colour temp.
The reason this works is because this setting is meant to correct the greenish hue that is given off by compact fluorescent tube light bulbs that are inside most builds like schools and large roomed buildings (pre LED era). This does a great job countering the lime green I dislike and creating a nice turquoise green/blue hue.
Here are 2 images. They are the same file, the first one's white balance is "as shot" which was white fluorescent. The second one is "auto WB" changed in Lightroom which would be very similar to what auto WB would have given me in the field.
Both colours are great and totally based on your preferences. I love the warm purples in the auto white balanced image but I love the cool purples and blues in the "as shot" white fluorescent more.
Star & Night sky Photography
Now moving on to the rest of the photography we capture at night... the stars. Well the stars and the rest of the night sky. I am a bit of a stubborn person when it comes to night photography. Although I do love seeing images of completely clear skies and the Milky Way catching the most attention in the image. For me I like to spice things up and not limit myself to only shooting the night sky when conditions are clear and the Milky Way core is "prime".
Let's start with regular clear sky night sky Milky Way images. The white balance I use for this is sometimes AUTO WHITE BALANCE which will give me a warmer hue to the Milky Way and the night sky in general. I'll use this when I am not shooting any images I will use for star trails. (I will write a night photography shooting post soon)
With this particular image, the auto WB makes the warm incandescent lights from the building to the left in the image that spread across the landscape.
Sometimes I like the warm tones within the landscape for night photography. This is why I really hate any hard and fast RULES when it comes to photography in general. It is all about preference and for me that can change often.
Here are some auto WB images I have taken to embrace the warm tones at night.
When shooting the night sky closer to blue hour or with moon light, there is a bit of flexibility with colour and light so I actually prefer auto WB during that time because you can mix the colours easier.
Another white balance I like to use at night with the Milky Way is TUNGSTEN or INCANDESCENT. It is approx 3200k colour temp. It cools down the warm tones within the image without losing colour in the landscape.
The reason this works is because this setting is meant to correct the yellow hue that is given off by older incandescent bulbs. The incandescent colour temperature is still used in LED bulbs so this would be a setting you would also use when shooting anything indoors.
These images were all taken with Tungsten/Incandescent white balance. They all share a very blue and white colour tone. Even with the cool colours it still allows the fall colours to show within the image on the far right.
Although I like the blue and white colours and it does help create a cohesive set of images, for me... I like more colour.
Often times when shooting images like the centre image above where there are clouds in the night sky, I will change my white balance to WHITE FLUORESCENT.
Story time: One night when I was out at Two Jack Lake in Banff photographing the night sky. There were some clouds in the sky and I was shooting in auto WB. One thing to know is that when shooting at Two Jack Lake you have to deal with light pollution when there are clouds. There are lights from Canmore on the left of Mt. Rundle and lights from Banff to the right of Rundle. With auto WB the lights were making the clouds turn of muddy yellowy orange colour which I really didn't like. I was ready to pack up and leave as I wasn't loving any of my images and I was thinking "I can just adjust the colours in post", but I remembered my white balance and figured I would try them all just for shits and giggles to see what colours I got. Sometimes for fun I would change my Kelvin colour temp to 10,000K and make the night sky look like the apocalypse with red light everywhere. I switched my WB around and when I came to White Fluorescent my gross coloured clouds were a coral pink hue which I loved! I ended up staying and shooting for 2 more hours because I became inspired by the colours on my screen that night.
After that experience it really solidified that I get inspired and excited by the colours on my screen and I need to spend the time getting the colours I want in camera instead of relying on post production. I get very uninspired behind the computer so I edit very rarely. That also means many of those images may never see the light of day because if I was uninspired taking them, I will be even more uninspired to do anything to "save" them in post.
Okay back to the reason for this post.. the settings.
These images were all shot with WHITE FLUORESCENT. All these images have something in common, light pollution. Lights from a human source, whether it is town lights, vehicle lights or head lamp from hikers.
I have found that the White Fluorescent setting will give you a really nice pinky/purple hue to any man made light which is a colour tone I really enjoy.
However this is NOT an always thing for me. I will very often take a couple test shots with Tungsten and WF when there is light pollution on the clouds in the image. Sometimes the pinky/purple hue is too much and I like the cooler tone for the scene.
To end this post off here are some of my favourite night photography images I have taken over the years.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post and I really hope it helps you with which white balance you may want to use for your next night photography outing.
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or send me a message through the website or in Instagram @danibanff.
Happy Shooting!
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