White Balance & Color Correction

Category: Photography and videography technique
Related techniques: Wide-angle photography, Ambient light photography
Key figures: Alex Mustard, Craig Jones, James Wiseman, Adam Hanlon, Eric Cheng, Mike Veitch, Peter Rowlands, Daniel Keller, Erin Quigley, Peter Lightowler, Berkley White, Steve Douglas

Overview

White balance and color correction are among the most fundamental challenges in underwater photography and videography. Water acts as a selective filter, progressively absorbing red, orange, and yellow wavelengths with depth, while allowing blue and green light to pass. By approximately 5 meters (16 feet), most red light has been absorbed; by 18-20 meters (60-65 feet), the complete absence of red wavelengths means many cameras will either fail to achieve a white balance or produce an inaccurate one (^[1]).

As Craig Jones explained in his foundational 2003 Wetpixel article “Filters and Ambient Light Photography,” water behaves as a light filter with two basic components: first, it shifts light toward higher color temperatures (favoring blues and greens, filtering out yellows and reds); second, it acts as a bandpass filter centered typically on cyan, and as water gets increasingly turbid, the center of the band shifts toward green and eventually to yellow, explaining the green and brown appearance of turbid water (^[2]).

The Wetpixel community was instrumental in developing and disseminating practical methods for underwater color management throughout the digital photography era, from Craig Jones’s early filter characterization work in 2003 through the Wetpixel Live video series in the 2020s.

The Problem: Why Camera White Balance Alone Is Insufficient

A common misconception among underwater photographers is that shooting in RAW format and adjusting white balance in post-processing can fully recover natural color. As Alex Mustard and Adam Hanlon discussed in their 2020 Wetpixel Live episode “White Balance and Water Color,” while RAW files do offer latitude for correction, getting color right in camera produces superior results (^[3]).

Craig Jones articulated the technical explanation in 2003: “Electronic adjustments occur after the picture is taken and only serve to modify it’s presentation. Filters work before the image is taken and fundamentally alter its content. If the light entering the camera lens is predominantly green, then the camera is obligated to set exposure based on green and the quality of the red and blue portions suffer” (^[4]).

Large white balance corrections applied in post-processing degrade image quality. As Alex Mustard noted in his 2005 UR/Pro filter review, while all three filters he tested required white balance corrections, the corrections were “small enough not to have a detectable effect on image quality” — with the parenthetical clarification that “large white balance adjustments in RAW do degrade image quality” (^[5]).

Peter Lightowler formalized this as “Rule #1” in his 2016 color correction guide: “Always endeavour to acquire the best color possible in-camera. While image editors can seemingly work magic, there are consequences to adjusting images in post. Noise, blue banding, and loss of sharpness can be introduced” (^[6]).

Color Correction Tools

Peter Lightowler identified four basic categories of underwater color correction tools: artificial light (strobes/video lights), underwater color correction filters, in-camera tools (white balance, tint controls), and post-production software (^[7]). These tools are often used in combination.

Strobes and Video Lights

The most traditional method of restoring color underwater is adding artificial light from strobes (for stills) or video lights (for video). Strobe light at a typical color temperature of 5500K provides a full spectrum of color, restoring reds, oranges, and yellows to the foreground subject. However, strobes have limited range (typically 6-7 feet of effective coverage), and subjects beyond strobe range exhibit the characteristic blue/green color shift of ambient-only illumination (^[8]).

This limitation was a key motivation for filter-based techniques. As Mike Veitch described in his 2005 Magic Filter review: “A pet peeve of mine has been trying to achieve even lighting on large objects such as Lettuce Coral. Strobes just don’t throw enough light to expose coral 15 feet away from the camera” (^[9]).

Color Correction Filters

Early Filter Theory (2003)

Craig Jones’s 2003 article on Wetpixel was the first comprehensive treatment of filter theory for digital underwater photography. He characterized two classes of useful filters: color compensating (CC) filters (magenta CC filters to counteract the bandpass effects of water, typically 2-5 units per foot of water) and color conversion filters (warming filters in the 81 and 85 series to counteract the cooling effects of water). He also documented UR/Pro and fluorescent filters, providing a reference table of mired values and CC magenta equivalents for products from UR/Pro, Tiffen, Hoya, Singh-Ray, B+W, HiTech, and Lee (^[10]).

Jones recommended the Singh-Ray FL-B for thread-on filters, the Hoya FL-D and B+W FL-D for green water, and the Lee FL-B series for rectangular filter holders. For rear gel holders, he suggested combining magenta gels (20-50 units) with warming gels (81C, 81EF, or 85), selecting strength based on depth and water clarity. An editor’s note from Eric Cheng summarized Craig’s recommended starting point: “purchase two strengths of magenta (say, 30 and 50 or 20 and 40), and then add two strengths of warming (81EF and 85). For shallow shots use the weak pair. For deep the strong pair. For green water use the strong magenta with or without the 81EF” (^[11]).

MCD Inon Z-220 Filter Holder (2004)

In March 2004, Marine Camera Distributors (MCD) began selling a filter holder for the Inon Z-220 series strobe that accepted Cokin P series filters, priced at $14.95. By fitting a cyan or green filter over the strobe, photographers could use fill-flash when shooting with magenta/red filters on the lens. Craig Jones commented that this was a simpler and cheaper solution than the Lee holders he had been using (^[12]).

UR/Pro Filters

UR/Pro was an established name in underwater color correction filters, particularly popular with videographers. Stan Waterman endorsed them: “URPRO filters provided dependable color balance to an otherwise monochromatic blue world…I depend on them” (^[13]).

In 2005, Alex Mustard reviewed the UR/Pro SW-CY (Shallow Water CY) filter, designed for depths between the surface and 8 meters (25 feet), overlapping with the standard CY filter’s range of 3-20 meters (10-60 feet). The glass sandwich construction limited the filter to lenses accepting screw-on filters, excluding popular fisheye lenses like the Nikon 10.5mm. Mustard noted that the camera’s auto white balance produced more pleasing results with the UR/Pro filters than with a 40CC Red gel, suggesting the warming-type UR/Pro filters made it easier for the camera to auto-white-balance than red compensating filters (^[14]).

Backscatter Graduated Neutral Density Filter System (2005)

In June 2005, Berkley White of Backscatter developed a graduated neutral density (ND) filter system for underwater use, demonstrated by James Watt at the Seaspace convention. Unlike color correction filters, the ND graduated filter addressed the dynamic range challenge of exposing both sun-lit backgrounds and foreground subjects. The system allowed the dark portion of a graduated filter to be positioned over the sun using the housing’s zoom control, reducing the sunball exposure by up to 4 stops while leaving the foreground unaffected. James Wiseman noted this was a housing-specific solution requiring the gear to engage a zoom or focus control (^[15]).

Magic Filters (2005)

The Magic Filter, developed by Alex Mustard and Peter Rowlands, was one of the most significant innovations in underwater filter photography for digital still cameras. Launched in August 2005, the Magic Filter took a fundamentally different approach from existing filters (^[16]).

As the product description explained: “The Magic differs from other filters because it is not designed to perfectly counteract the filtering effect of seawater because this is highly variable (e.g. with depth). Instead it adjusts colours reaching the sensor to produce a colour balance that is easily corrected by the camera’s white balance” (^[17]). This was described as “a new approach for underwater filtration, one that takes full advantage of the new technology of digital still cameras.”

The Magic Filter was made as an optical quality gel rather than glass, making it compatible with popular wide-angle lenses like fisheyes and ultra-wide zooms that could not accept screw-on filters. The filter worked from the surface down to 15 meters and would not work with daylight-balanced slide film — it was a purely digital-era product (^[18]).

Mike Veitch’s October 2005 review was the first independent test. Drawing on his video experience where red filters with manual white balance were standard practice, Veitch tested the Magic Filter in scenarios it was and was not designed for, including use with strobes. He found that white-balancing with strobes attached produced surprisingly good results, allowing photographers to carry both the filter and strobes on every dive without compromising either technique. All photos in his review were presented as “straight jpegs from the camera” with no enhancements or color correction, to demonstrate the filter’s capabilities fairly (^[19]).

Veitch’s key finding on white balance technique: “the key to proper WB is to set the WB at the depth you will be shooting. What the instructions don’t mention is that the WB should also be set in the direction of shooting” — a practical insight from video that was new to many still photographers (^[20]).

In August 2006, the Auto-Magic Filter was launched for digital compact cameras, designed to work with the camera’s automatic settings for point-and-shoot simplicity. The product description clarified the filter’s operating principle: “Unlike the camera’s white balance feature — which alters the mix of light already collected by the sensor — the Magic Filter alters the mix of light before it enters the lens. Since reds and oranges disappear from the underwater spectrum quickly, the Magic Filter provides a better mix of light for the camera’s white balance function to utilize” (^[21]).

In December 2008, Mustard and Rowlands released the “Shooting Magic” DVD, a 90-minute guide to underwater filter photography filmed over 6 dives in the Red Sea, 3 with a DSLR and 3 with a compact camera. The DVD covered white balancing, subject selection, exposure, composition, and included post-dive reviews of all shots — both good and bad — shown unadjusted straight from the camera. Mustard wrote that the DVD was “packed with extra features such as a demonstration of the benefits of filters, fitting filters to both compacts and DSLRs, FAQs and Alex discussing some of his favourite filter images.” Reviewer Steve Williams wrote that it captured “some of the invaluable knowledge of someone at the top of their game” (^[22], ^[23]).

At DEMA 2008, Alex Mustard and Peter Rowlands shared a booth with Wetpixel to represent Magic Filters and Underwater Photography Magazine (UwP) (^[24]).

In April 2011, Magic Filters released an external-mount solid filter version using their proprietary formula, which could be added or removed from the lens underwater — solving the long-standing limitation that gel filters had to be committed to before a dive (^[25]).

Complementary Filters (2004-2007)

The concept of using complementary filters on camera lenses and strobes originated with Craig Jones’s experiments, which predated James Wiseman’s formal article. As early as March 2004, Craig Jones had posted photos shot with a CC30M gel over the lens and a CC30G gel over his strobes, and Marine Camera Distributors was selling filter holders for the Inon Z-220 to enable exactly this technique (^[26]).

James Wiseman introduced complementary filter photography to a wider audience through his June 2007 Wetpixel article, building on Jones’s experiments. The technique uses a filter on the camera lens to reject undesirable ambient light (e.g., CC30 Magenta) paired with a complementary filter on the strobes (e.g., CC30 Green), so that strobe-lit foreground subjects appear natural while the background water benefits from the lens filter’s color correction (^[27]).

Wiseman’s side-by-side comparison shots — possible because his wife had a matching camera system — showed dramatically bluer water and more vibrant foreground color with the complementary filter setup compared to unfiltered shooting. He also noted an unexpected benefit: the magenta lens filter reduced the common digital problem of blown-out sun-balls by blocking excess cyan light around the sun. Forum member Viz’art noted that theater lighting supply companies like Rosco sold suitable gels very cheaply — “ten bucks will supply you average dive club” (^[28]).

Alex Mustard commented that the technique’s benefit was not just improved cyan rendering but that “the M filter on the lens darkens the water relative to the foreground, which often creates more dramatic pictures” (^[29]).

Inon Color Temperature Conversion Filters (2012)

In June 2012, Inon released Color Temperature Conversion Filters for their Z-240, Z-220, D-2000, and S-2000 series strobes. These reduced the strobe’s native 5500K color temperature to 4900K or 4600K, producing richer blues in wide-angle backgrounds when RAW files were processed at the lower color temperature. The product was previewed by Alex Mustard in the first Wetpixel Hangout (^[30]).

Community members quickly shared DIY alternatives: Lee color gel #206, cut to fit behind strobe diffusers, achieved similar results for a fraction of the cost. Alex Mustard himself used Lee color correction filters to lower strobe color temperature from 5500K to 5000K and 4500K, a technique he shared in Wetpixel forum discussions (^[31]).

In July 2013, Inon published a free guide to using diffusers to adjust strobe color temperature. The article listed the advantages of warming filters as improving skin tones, enhancing warm-color subjects, and bringing blue water color back into the image without changing foreground colors. Wetpixel noted that Alex Mustard had “long been a proponent of balancing lighting and camera color temperatures” (^[32]).

Inon Filters for GoPro (2016-2017)

In March 2016, Inon announced a color filter set for GoPro HERO3, HERO3+, and HERO4 housings, comprising three filters designed for different conditions: a pink filter for green water, an orange filter for shallow depths (up to 15m), and a red filter for deeper water (15m+). The filters were inserted inside the GoPro’s standard housing lens port (^[33]). Inon shipped an updated set for the GoPro HERO5 in August 2017 (^[34]).

Inon UW Variable Red Filter (2017)

In August 2017, Inon introduced the UW Variable Red Filter M67, a novel design using two rotating circular polarizing filters that allowed continuously variable filter strength adjustment underwater. This addressed a fundamental limitation of fixed filters: the need to commit to a single strength for an entire dive. By rotating the front filter element, the user could adjust from almost no filtration to maximum red-shift as depth changed (^[35]).

Inon ND Filters for Strobes (2018)

In December 2018, Inon released a -4.0 ND filter for their S-2000 strobe, designed to reduce strobe output by 4 stops for macro photography where close-range subjects at wide apertures or high ISO would otherwise be overexposed. The filter was carefully designed to maintain natural color balance — the tint of light through the filter matched the native strobe output. A similar ND filter was already available for Inon’s Z-330 strobe (^[36]).

Backscatter Flip Filters for GoPro (2012-2013)

When GoPro released its own dive housing with a flat lens port that could not accept filters, Backscatter developed a Flip-Up Color Correction Filter system that could be user-installed without modifying the stock housing, and flipped up or down during a dive (^[37]).

In 2011, Snake River Prototyping had released the BlurFix adapter for GoPro Hero HD housings, which placed a flat 55mm filter in front of the housing’s fisheye lens, fixing the GoPro’s underwater focus issue. The company also offered UR/Pro color correction filters for the adapter in green and blue water variants (^[38]).

By 2013, Backscatter expanded the Flip filter family for the GoPro HERO3 with three depth-rated filters: Shallow (5-20 ft), Dive (20-50 ft), and Deep (50+ ft), along with a 55mm threaded adaptor for standard screw-on filters (^[39]).

Keldan Spectrum and Ambient Filters (2016-2019)

Keldan Lights, represented by engineer Daniel Keller, developed a two-part filter system introduced in 2016 and revised after extensive global field testing. Keller’s 2017 video demonstration showed that below 18-20 meters, the complete absence of red meant cameras often failed to white balance or produced inaccurate results, and that holding a shallower white balance setting at greater depths produced better results than attempting to re-balance (^[40]).

The Keldan system comprised two complementary products:

1. Spectrum Filters mounted on the camera lens, available in -2 stop (4 meters of color compensation) and -4 stop (8 meters) versions, in both blue water and green water variants. At 10 meters, the -2 filter produced a color spectrum equivalent to 6 meters without the filter (^[41]).

2. Ambient Filters mounted on Keldan’s 4X and 8X video lights, correcting the lights’ output to match the color spectrum that occurs underwater at specific depths (6m or 12m versions). This solved a long-standing video problem: with a standard video light and custom white balance, the light’s constant color temperature would create red spots where artificial light fell, mismatching the ambient-balanced rest of the frame (^[42]).

Massimo Franzese’s 2019 review for Wetpixel tested the system at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. He found the color rendering “truly superb across the whole frame” and noted that Keldan’s combined filter approach “could not be achieved solely with strobes” — the lens filter ensured even color from foreground to background, while the ambient light filters on the video lights prevented the typical warm/cool mismatch. Keldan claimed a color rendering index (CRI) of 92 for their filters (^[43]).

Franzese stressed a fundamental limitation: “when shooting past a certain depth there are no red or orange wavelengths left in the color spectrum and no filter can restore what is not there. From their experimentation, Keldan does not recommend the use of their filters much past 20 meters” (^[44]).

In July 2020, Keldan shipped a pocket-sized Color Checker card featuring a 24-patch X-Rite ColorChecker on one side and an 18% neutral grey card on the other, mounted on a rigid fiberglass board with waterproof resin coating. The grey card side provided a handy tool for achieving correct white balance underwater (^[45]).

White Balance Tools and Accessories

White Balance Slates

Setting custom white balance underwater requires a neutral reference. Videographers have long used white slates, but still photographers adopted the practice as filter photography grew. Mike Veitch described using a white balance slate in the direction of shooting as critical to accurate results (^[46]). The Lastolite EzyBalance waterproof color balance target, reviewed by Adam Hanlon in 2013, offered a collapsible 12-inch square with white and 18% grey sides specifically for underwater use (^[47]).

In 2015, DeepPro Systems released a dedicated white balance and color calibration slate for underwater filmmakers, featuring a three-panel (black/grey/white) side for exposure and color grading calibration and a white side for setting auto white balance. The slate was designed for flat color profiles like S-Log, RAW, and GoPro ProTune (^[48]).

ExpoDisc and Dome Port White Balance

In July 2006, Wetpixel user Daniel Deck (videodan) first posted about modifying his Light & Motion Bluefin HD housing to use an ExpoDisc for underwater white balancing (^[49]). Eric Cheng then published a detailed photo tutorial in August 2006 showing how to install ExpoDisc material into Light & Motion Bluefin HD flip filter assemblies. The ExpoDisc works by diffusing incoming light to provide the camera sensor with an average light value. Cheng noted that “many of us struggle with underwater white balance, especially when using wide-angle lenses” because it can be difficult to fill enough of the frame with a white-balance target when shooting fisheye or ultra-wide lenses (^[50]).

At DEMA 2008, Nauticam demonstrated the WB-PORT, a patent-pending translucent white iris built into a dome port that could be opened and closed via a knob on the side of the port. Eric Cheng called it potentially important for the emerging HDSLR video convergence: “once you stick a fisheye lens on your camera, how are you going to white-balance?” The WB-PORT was designed to fit Nexus, Ikelite, and Sea & Sea port openings (^[51]).

Amphibico Electronic One-Push White Balance (2010)

In June 2010, Amphibico announced that their Dive Buddy EVO Elite II housing models for Sony camcorders (HDR-XR550V and HDR-CX550V) now included an “electronic one-push white balance” feature, allowing access to the white balance function via a push button on the housing hand grip. The company planned to roll the feature out across the Dive Buddy EVO Elite II range for additional Sony camera models (^[52]).

Post-Production Color Correction

Channel Mixer Technique (2003)

Craig Jones published one of the earliest digital post-production color correction tutorials on Wetpixel in June 2003, demonstrating two complementary techniques. “Silhouette Color Correction” showed how to correct white balance on wide-angle silhouette shots using RGB controls and hue adjustments, noting that “whenever you have a predominantly monochrome image you can take huge liberties with correction and no one will know better” (^[53]).

His companion tutorial “Using the Channel Mixer” demonstrated using Premiere Pro’s Channel Mixer to blend green channel information into the red channel for underwater video. By setting a value of 20-50 for the green-to-red channel mix and applying a small negative green constant (-3), he could transform flat, green-cast video into natural-looking footage. A comment from Michael Knudsen confirmed the technique’s practical value: after forgetting his red filter and getting green footage of clownfish, he used the channel mixer method and found it “superior” to the Color Corrector tool he had been using (^[54]).

James Wiseman adapted this technique for Photoshop still images in January 2004, using the Channel Mixer adjustment layer to remove green from the output channel, followed by a Hue adjustment layer to compensate. His before-and-after demonstration converted green San Diego water shots into images with “beautiful blue water, and good saturated color” (^[55]).

RAW Processing and White Balance

The shift from JPEG to RAW shooting was a turning point for underwater color management. James Wiseman’s February 2004 “RAW vs JPEG” article explained that RAW files contained 12 bits per channel (4,096 values) versus JPEG’s 8 bits (256 values), giving four additional stops of dynamic range. Critically for color correction, RAW files did not have a fixed white balance — leaving that decision to post-processing (^[56]). As Eric Cheng noted in the comments: “if you nail your exposure and white-balance…shooting RAW won’t get you much more than if you were shooting Fine JPG. However, it can’t hurt to shoot RAW, because if you don’t nail that shot, there is some latitude for you to play with” (^[57]).

In May 2004, Eric Cheng published a detailed comparison of RAW converters (Canon EOSViewer, Canon Digital Photo Professional, Adobe Photoshop CS, and CaptureOne), finding significant differences in how they handled underwater images — particularly sunballs, where Canon’s own software produced far smoother gradients than the third-party converters. He concluded: “Try all of the RAW converters available. The Canon/Nikon/Fuji converters are free and come with your cameras, and since these do the best job with sunballs (in my opinion), you’re in luck as an underwater photographer” (^[58]).

Craig Jones and James Wiseman co-authored a companion piece in April 2004 with tips for using Adobe Camera RAW, including the white balance eyedropper tool for underwater images (^[59]).

In December 2006, Eric Cheng published a detailed comparison of RAW conversions between Adobe Lightroom beta 4 and CaptureOne 3.7 using underwater images, noting differences in saturation handling and noise reduction — both critical for underwater color fidelity (^[60]).

Jeremy Payne Color Correction Technique (2008)

In July 2008, Wetpixel member Jeremy Payne shared a technique for restoring natural-looking color to underwater images shot with insufficient strobe light, designed for images with colorful subjects but a blue/green cast. Forum member DavidScubadiver confirmed the technique’s effectiveness: Jeremy had color-corrected one of his posted pictures as a demonstration, and the results allowed him to “get some really great color back into my shots with minimal effort” (^[61]).

Lightroom and Modern Workflows

Erin Quigley, a digital imaging consultant, became a leading voice on underwater post-processing workflow through her GoAskErin tutorials, frequently featured on Wetpixel and Backscatter. In 2012, she published a Lightroom 4 white balance tutorial that emphasized using before/after views (the backslash or “Y” shortcuts) because “the editor’s eye will become accustomed to any color cast” without a reference (^[62]). Her 2014 tutorial demonstrated advanced white balance correction for underwater images including adjustment brush and graduated filter techniques (^[63]).

A significant advance came in June 2020 when Adobe added local selective hue and saturation adjustment to Lightroom Classic 9.3 and Camera Raw 12.3. Adam Hanlon called this particularly important for underwater photographers: “Previously, if there was a local color cast, the only option was to attempt to use the White Balance Color and Hue sliders. In almost all instances, doing so resulted in color casts elsewhere in the image.” The new tools allowed precise removal of the blue or green casts common in underwater images without affecting other areas of the frame (^[64]).

Tobias Friedrich Lightroom Presets (2020)

In May 2020, underwater photographer Tobias Friedrich released two sets of modular Lightroom presets specifically designed for underwater images — one for wide-angle and one for macro. Unlike typical one-touch presets, these were workflow-based systems with seven modules (exposure, white balance, contrast/setup, saturation, background/vignette, noise reduction, sharpening) that could be mixed and matched. Mike Veitch reviewed them for Wetpixel and found them particularly useful for photographers who found post-processing tedious, noting that standard one-touch presets “rarely work underwater” due to the extreme variability of underwater lighting. He recommended them especially for “novice users and those who don’t spend much time in Lightroom” (^[65], ^[66]).

DaVinci Resolve for Video

In July 2011, BlackMagic Design released DaVinci Resolve Lite, a free version of their professional color grading software. Adam Hanlon called it “awesome” and noted it “easily replaces Color” (Apple’s discontinued grading tool), especially for those accustomed to nodal workflows (^[67]).

Peter Lightowler’s 2016 article on the Sony AX100 demonstrated the use of DaVinci Resolve for underwater video color correction. He used the Lift (shadows), Gamma (midtones), and Gain (highlights) wheels to correct the AX100’s characteristic green hue in auto white balance mode (pushing Gain toward magenta) and its red overcompensation in One Push mode (pushing Offset toward blue/aqua). He noted that Sony’s XAVC-S codec withstood aggressive color grading better than many alternatives (^[68]).

Steve Douglas reviewed CrumplePop’s ToneGrade plug-in for Final Cut Pro X in December 2011, demonstrating its use on underwater footage including shots of a sand tiger shark on the wreck of the Spar in North Carolina. He found that even the default settings improved underwater images, with the Depth and Fine Detail sliders bringing out details in murky green water (^[69]).

Custom Camera Calibration Profiles

In 2017, Adam Hanlon published a tutorial on creating custom DNG camera calibration profiles in Lightroom. These profiles were “particularly useful for underwater image correction” because standard profiles did not account for the unique color shifts of underwater environments. The tutorial showed how to use Adobe’s free DNG Profile Editor to create profiles that added red tint to compensate for the typical blue/green shift of underwater RAW files — creating a more accurate starting point for further editing (^[70]).

Monitor Calibration

In April 2015, Adam Hanlon reviewed the Datacolor Spyder5 monitor calibration system for Wetpixel, emphasizing that “one of the effects of light’s travel through water is that we lose wavelengths (colors) progressively as we increase depth” and that if monitors do not accurately display these shifts, “the blues become very dark or even purple.” He stressed that “if you plan to enhance your images in any way and to share or print them, monitor color calibration is a mandatory process” (^[71]).

Wetpixel Live Color Education Series (2020-2022)

The Wetpixel Live video series, hosted by Adam Hanlon, devoted multiple episodes to color science and management for underwater photographers:

• “White Balance and Water Color” (Ep 40, August 2020) — Alex Mustard and Adam Hanlon discussed why getting color right in camera produces superior results to post-processing correction (^[72], ^[73]).
• “Color Masterclass for Underwater Image Makers” (Ep 74, October 2020) — Daniel Keller of Keldan Lights provided practical advice on how light interacts with water and how to achieve the best color results (^[74], ^[75]).
• “Color Rendering Index Primer” (Ep 76, October 2020) — Daniel Keller explained how CRI affects underwater lighting quality (^[76]).
• “Color Correction Filters” (Ep 81, October 2020) — Daniel Keller discussed how filters balance the light spectrum for both stills and video (^[77], ^[78]).
• “Color Spaces for Underwater Image-Makers” (June 2021) — Alex Mustard and Adam Hanlon addressed the common problem of colors not being faithfully reproduced when sharing images online or in print, discussing correct color space selection for export (^[79]).
• “Color Temperature Primer” (Ep 245, June 2022) — Adam Hanlon explained how understanding color temperature helps create memorable images, emphasizing that “despite the option of correcting it in post-production, getting it correct in the camera will help ensure that colors remain saturated and rich” (^[80], ^[81]).

Camera-Specific Challenges

Different cameras handle underwater white balance differently, making testing essential. Peter Lightowler documented the Sony AX100’s two distinct white balance problems: a green hue in Auto mode (caused by the Bayer pattern’s extra green pixels overwhelming the limited red data) and red overcompensation in One Push mode. His solutions involved switching from red to magenta filters for Auto mode and adding red stickers to the white balance slate for One Push mode (^[82]).

Berkley White of Backscatter outlined a specific white balance workflow for the Canon 5D Mark II’s video mode in 2009: perform manual white balance in photo mode, capture and lock focus, switch to live view, lock exposure, adjust exposure compensation for background blue, then balance foreground with video lights (^[83]).

In September 2005, the Wetpixel community celebrated when Adobe’s Photoshop CS2 update finally read “as-shot” white balance information from Nikon D2x NEF files, after an extended period where Adobe and Nikon had been at odds over the RAW format. Both companies issued a joint statement about their commitment to ensuring “common customers get the very best quality from their photos when using our products together” (^[84]).

Timeline

• 2003-06: Craig Jones publishes “Silhouette Color Correction” and “Using the Channel Mixer” video tutorials on Wetpixel (^[85], ^[86])
• 2003-06: Craig Jones publishes “Filters and Ambient Light Photography” — the first comprehensive underwater filter guide for digital cameras on Wetpixel (^[87])
• 2004-01: James Wiseman adapts channel mixer technique for Photoshop stills (^[88])
• 2004-02: James Wiseman publishes “RAW vs JPEG” guide emphasizing white balance flexibility (^[89])
• 2004-03: MCD releases Cokin P-series filter holder for Inon Z-220 strobes, enabling complementary filter techniques (^[90])
• 2004-05: Eric Cheng publishes RAW converter comparison showing significant quality differences for underwater images (^[91])
• 2005-05: Alex Mustard reviews UR/Pro SW-CY shallow water filter (^[92])
• 2005-06: Berkley White develops graduated ND filter system for underwater sunball control (^[93])
• 2005-08: Magic Filter launched by Alex Mustard and Peter Rowlands (^[94])
• 2005-09: Adobe Photoshop CS2 finally reads Nikon D2x as-shot white balance data (^[95])
• 2005-10: Mike Veitch publishes first independent Magic Filter review (^[96])
• 2006-07: Daniel Deck pioneers ExpoDisc use for underwater white balance (^[97])
• 2006-08: Eric Cheng publishes ExpoDisc underwater installation tutorial (^[98])
• 2006-08: Auto-Magic Filter released for compact cameras (^[99])
• 2007-06: James Wiseman introduces complementary filter photography on Wetpixel (^[100])
• 2008-07: Jeremy Payne shares color correction technique for underexposed strobe images (^[101])
• 2008-10: Nauticam demonstrates WB-PORT white balance dome port at DEMA (^[102])
• 2008-10: Magic Filters and UwP Magazine share Wetpixel booth at DEMA (^[103])
• 2008-12: “Shooting Magic” DVD released by Alex Mustard and Peter Rowlands (^[104])
• 2010-06: Amphibico ships electronic one-push white balance feature for Sony housings (^[105])
• 2011-04: Magic Filters releases external-mount solid filter version (^[106])
• 2011-07: BlackMagic Design releases free DaVinci Resolve Lite color grading software (^[107])
• 2011-08: Snake River Prototyping releases BlurFix adapter with UR/Pro filter support for GoPro (^[108])
• 2012-05: Backscatter announces Flip-Up Color Correction Filter for GoPro (^[109])
• 2012-06: Inon releases Color Temperature Conversion Filters for strobes (^[110])
• 2013-03: Adam Hanlon reviews Lastolite EzyBalance for underwater use (^[111])
• 2013-07: Inon publishes free guide to adjusting strobe color temperature (^[112])
• 2015-02: DeepPro Systems releases white and color balance slate (^[113])
• 2015-04: Adam Hanlon reviews Spyder5 monitor calibration for underwater image editing (^[114])
• 2016-03: Peter Lightowler publishes comprehensive AX100 color correction guide (^[115])
• 2016-03: Inon announces color filter set for GoPro HERO3/3+/4 (^[116])
• 2017-04: Adam Hanlon publishes custom camera calibration profile tutorial (^[117])
• 2017-08: Inon announces UW Variable Red Filter M67 with adjustable strength (^[118])
• 2017-12: Daniel Keller demonstrates filter effects on color underwater (^[119])
• 2018-12: Inon ships -4.0 ND filter for S-2000 strobes with neutral color balance (^[120])
• 2019-02: Keldan Filters explained in Wetpixel article (^[121])
• 2019-05: Massimo Franzese reviews Keldan Spectrum and Ambient filters (^[122])
• 2020-05: Tobias Friedrich releases modular underwater Lightroom presets (^[123])
• 2020-06: Adobe adds local hue and saturation controls to Lightroom — critical for underwater color correction (^[124])
• 2020-07: Keldan ships underwater Color Checker card with X-Rite patches and grey card (^[125])
• 2020-2022: Wetpixel Live series covers white balance, color masterclass, filters, color spaces, and color temperature (^[126])

References

Wetpixel Live