Hobbies And Interests
Why Your Photos Are Yellow Looking
To a digital camera sensor, light indicates a warmer temperature, but temperature in this sense is not related to true warmth or cold. Instead, the warmth of a photo is interpreted by the light you use to take it. Warm colors, which are oranges and yellows, are typically found in photos that capture natural light in sunrises and sunsets or in indoor or outdoor artificial light created by incandescent bulbs. Most cameras have presets or settings that may or may not correctly interpret the source of light. Incorrectly interpreting a light source is the cause of photos that are yellow or orange.
Adjusting a Yellowish Photo Already Taken
If you've taken a one-of-a-kind picture at an event and the final product has a yellowish cast, it can be fixed with a photo manipulation computer program or the software that came with your camera. Opening the photo and adjusting the white balance can remove yellowing and restore the true colors of the image. Some images may require a moderate increase in brightness in order to show both the major and minor effects of adjusting the white balance manually. If you don't have a photo manipulation computer program, consider taking your images to a local photographic specialty shop where they offer image adjustment at a modest cost.
Adjusting Your Camera to Avoid Yellow Photos
Once you become accustomed to working with your specific camera, you will better understand the way it interprets light. Take test shots in a variety of lighting situations, including outdoors under natural light and indoors under florescent and incandescent light. Don't rely on the preview screen on your camera to determine the white balance of a photo, because these screens may not produce a photo that resembles the finished result in print or on a computer monitor. Check the photos and adjust the white balance to determine how your camera is interpreting the light. Be aware that adjusting a digital camera to match florescent light, for example, may not necessarily produce an image that isn't yellow. Practice is the best way to figure out the proper settings for your camera.
Considerations
Don't wait for the day of a special event to learn how to work with your digital camera, if possible. Still, if you have no choice, you can take several versions of the same image, adjusting the white balance between each. Alternatively, you can take the images at the same setting and batch fix them using a photo editing program on your computer. Most images, particularly those that are yellow, are completely salvageable and you'll only have to do some extra work to make them a timeless, accurately colored memory.