A white card looked at in bright sunlight, or shade, the card would would appear quite white to our eyes. However a camera will record that with a colour cost.
If we were to photograph that in shade, the resulting colour of shade is blue. If you want to remove the blue, you would set the white balance setting to “Shade (Approx. 7000K)” and reference will be back to what we would see with our eyes.
However, to record the colour of light, leave white balance setting to Daylight (5200K)
White balance custom settings can be used creatively.
In daylight,
-shade and cloudy weather will record orange.
– fluorescent will record green
– tungsten will record with blue
Note: If shooting in jpg, the colour is processed into the file, if in RAW, you have ability to play with colours later.
If unsure of light, you can white balance with a white card, it will measure the colour of light and neutralise it for you. Auto white balance can also be used if shooting in several different light sources at the same time – here the camera will work out the best colour setting and neutralise those colour costs automatically.