Correct Poor White Balance in Photos With GIMP
Correcting poor white balance in photos is an important step in post-processing to ensure that the colors in your images appear natural and realistic. One tool that can be used for this purpose is GIMP, a free and open-source image editing software.
White balance is the process of adjusting the colors in an image so that white appears as neutral white, without any unwanted color casts. This is particularly important when shooting under mixed lighting conditions, such as indoors with artificial lighting, where the color temperature of the light can vary and cause unwanted color casts.
To correct poor white balance in GIMP, follow these simple steps:
1.Open the image you want to correct in GIMP.
2.Go to the Colors menu and select Color Balance.
3.In the Color Balance dialog box, you will see three sliders for adjusting the colors: Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights. By default, the Midtones slider is selected.
4.To correct a color cast, you need to adjust the opposite color. For example, if the image has a yellow color cast, you need to adjust the blue slider. If it has a blue color cast, you need to adjust the yellow slider.
5.Move the slider to the opposite side to correct the color cast. You can adjust the slider until the image appears neutral.
6.If necessary, you can also adjust the other sliders to fine-tune the colors.
7.Click OK to apply the changes.
Another way to correct poor white balance in GIMP is to use the Levels tool. Here’s how:
1.Go to the Colors menu and select Levels.
2.In the Levels dialog box, you will see three sliders: Black Point, White Point, and Gamma.
3.Click the White Point eyedropper and then click on a neutral area in the image, such as a white or gray object.
4.The Levels tool will adjust the white balance based on the selected area, and the colors in the image should appear more natural.
5.If necessary, you can adjust the other sliders to fine-tune the colors.
6.Click OK to apply the changes.
In conclusion, correcting poor white balance in photos is an important step in post-processing to ensure that the colors in your images appear natural and realistic. With GIMP, you can easily adjust the colors using the Color Balance or Levels tool, and fine-tune the colors to achieve the desired result.