Back to Basics – Part 5B: White Balance: Restoring Natural Underwater Color in Lightroom
Back to Basics – Part 5B White Balance: Restoring Natural Underwater Color in Lightroom White balance is the foundation of every successful underwater edit. Before making any adjustments to exposure, contrast, or sharpness, it's essential to first correct the color bias caused by water depth, water type, and lighting conditions . When the white balance is off, subsequent processing becomes more difficult to predict and less precise. In this Back-to-Basics series, white balance is the first step in the Develop module. It comes after culling, organization, and Library work, but before any tonal adjustments. This post focuses on practical white balance techniques tailored for underwater photographers , rather than general Lightroom theory. Why White Balance Matters More Underwater Than on Land On land, auto white balance usually gets you pretty close, since light travels through air with minimal color absorption and neutral references are plentif...