Art is subjective and photography is art, but sometimes we want our photos to look just like what we see in person.

One of the most flexible things you can do with your camera is change your “Image Quality” to Raw. You’ll be able to make more adjustments to your photos in editing softwares like Adobe Lightroom.

I typically only shoot in RAW. It does take up more space in your memory card, as well as other Raw + JPEG type options, but it works best for me.

Choose the option closest to your environment (Or Custom Temp).

For studio sessions I choose the custom option and set it too 5600k.

Your camera will most likely have your white balance set to Auto. I don’t trust it. It can be helpful but it’s still better when you control your settings. If the camera thinks you’re in different environments then “Auto” can ruin your workflow and disrupt consistency. When I’m outside I set my white balance to cloudy by default. I just like the look of it, even though I can tweak the temperature in post production if I want. If I’m doing a session that requires some type of flash then I automatically set it to 5600k.

F/ 6.3 1/160

White Balance Settings: 5600K

There are plenty of photographers who have a warm style. Photography is subjective. If it’s warm though, you want it to be warm because you made the decision. Here’s a chart showing examples of realistic scenarios and color temperatures associated with them: