ColorBalance

ColorBalance[image]

adjusts the colors in image to achieve a balance that simulates the effect of neutral lighting.

ColorBalance[image,ref]

adjusts colors in image so that the reference color specified by ref is mapped to white.

ColorBalance[image,reftarget]

maps the reference color ref to target.

Details and Options

  • ColorBalance is typically used for white or gray balancing, removing unrealistic color casts from images. This usually results in representing objects with neutral colors as gray.
  • ColorBalance works with images with explicit color spaces. Images with ColorSpace->Automatic are converted to "RGB" or "Grayscale" before being adjusted.
  • Either of the ref or target can be any of the following:
  • colorexplicit color
    whitepointnamed white point as used as a setting for WhitePoint
    temperaturecolor specified by a temperature
    {temperature,tint}color specified by a temperature and a tint
    {pos1,pos2,…}mean color at positions posi in the original image
    markerimagemean color sampled according to a marker image
  • The mean color above is computed in the Lab color space.
  • The temperature can be specified as a value in Kelvin, typically in the range 2000 K and 20,000 K. The tint can be given in units of , typically in the range and .
  • Temperature and tint can be visualized in the MacAdam chromaticity diagram below, where the curve corresponds to a radiating blackbody and tint adjustments are moves on isothermal lines, orthogonal to the temperature curve.
  • ColorBalance takes a Method option. Possible settings include:
  • "GrayScaling"scaling the mean of the image
    "RGBScaling"scaling in the RGB space
    "LMSScaling"scaling in the LMS space
    "ChromaticityScaling"scaling of the chromaticities in the LMS space
  • With the method "LMSScaling", the scaling is performed using the Bradford transformation matrix to convert between XYZ and LMS.
  • With a given {temperature,tint} pair, Method"ChromaticityScaling" is always used; otherwise, Method->"LMSScaling" is used. »

Examples

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Basic Examples  (1)

Automatic white balancing to correct for blue cast:

Scope  (8)

Specify the white reference using a specific color:

Specify the white region using a list of pixel positions:

Specify the white region using a marker image:

Specify the reference white temperature:

Specify the reference white temperature and tint:

Specify reference and target colors:

Perform a chromatic adaptation by specifying the reference and target WhitePoint:

Perform a chromatic adaptation by specifying the reference color and the target WhitePoint:

Options  (6)

Method  (6)

Use Method->"RGBScaling" to rescale the image in the RGB space:

When a strong color cast is present, scaling the pixels in the RGB space may not fix the color cast:

Use Method->"LMSScaling" to scale the pixels in the LMS space:

Use Method->"ChromaticityScaling" to make the average color neutral (a shade of gray):

Use "RGBScaling" with no reference or target colors:

This corresponds to transforming the max color value to 1 for each channel:

"ChromaticityScaling" typically creates a more balanced image:

Notice that it is computationally more expensive:

If the color is specified using temperature and tint, Method->"ChromaticityScaling" is used:

With no reference or target colors, available methods make assumptions about the image scene:

"RGBScaling" and "LMSScaling" assume that the image contains a white object:

"ChromaticityScaling" assumes that the average color is neutral (i.e. gray):

Applications  (4)

Underwater images  (2)

Correct a strong blue color cast, assuming there should be some white in the picture:

If white pixels are present already, Method"LMSScaling" will have little or no effect:

The default assumption of a neutral average color may yield extreme results:

Manually specify a region where the average color is computed:

Time of day  (1)

The same scene appears differently depending on its illumination:

Use a low temperature to simulate early sunrise:

5500K is the typical vertical daylight temperature:

Use a higher temperature to simulate a hazy sky:

Remove Yellowing  (1)

Correct for age yellowing in a document:

Properties & Relations  (2)

When an image has dark pixels, ImageAdjust yields a result similar to the "RGBscaling" method:

The chromatic mapping performed by ColorBalance is generally not invertible:

Possible Issues  (1)

Balancing of a scene illuminated by multiple light sources may present issues.

This scene is lit both by reflected sunlight at dusk and by incandescent light from the street lamps:

Balance using the incandescent lamps as reference:

Compare with balancing using the sky and the water reflection:

Interactive Examples  (1)

Dynamically adjust the color temperature using a mouse click to specify the reference white:

Wolfram Research (2015), ColorBalance, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorBalance.html.

Text

Wolfram Research (2015), ColorBalance, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorBalance.html.

CMS

Wolfram Language. 2015. "ColorBalance." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorBalance.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (2015). ColorBalance. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorBalance.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_colorbalance, author="Wolfram Research", title="{ColorBalance}", year="2015", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorBalance.html}", note=[Accessed: 09-May-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_colorbalance, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={ColorBalance}, year={2015}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorBalance.html}, note=[Accessed: 09-May-2025 ]}