Today’s Question: I shot a bunch of photos outside in the full sun BUT had left my camera set on the tungsten light source setting I had used previously. As you can imagine the photos all have a horrible blue cast. I realize I can quickly change that in the Develop module [in Lightroom Classic], but is there a way I can make that adjustment to all the images as I import them?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you could use a preset to apply a white balance correction to all photos as part of the process of importing them into Lightroom Classic. You could also batch process the images after the capture using the Auto Sync feature.
More Detail: One of the benefits of capturing photos in raw is that the in-camera white balance setting does not affect the original capture data. In other words, you can change the white balance setting when processing the raw capture without any negative impact on the quality of the image.
In Lightroom Classic you can apply an adjustment like this using a Develop preset during import, or by using the Auto Sync feature to batch process the images after import.
To apply the correction during import, first create a preset for this purpose. Using any image you can choose “Auto” from the WB (white balance) popup in the Basic section of the right panel in the Develop module. Note that you could also choose a white balance preset (such as “Daylight” from the popup or set a specific value for the Temp and Tint sliders if you prefer. Then click the plus (+) button to the right of the Presets heading on the left panel and choose “Create Preset”. In the New Develop Preset dialog, click the Check None button at the bottom-left, and then turn on the White Balance checkbox. You can also turn on the checkbox for any other adjustments you would like to include so they are applied to the photos you import.
Enter a meaningful name in the Preset Name field, such as “White Balance Correction”, and then click the Create button to create the preset. When importing the affected photos, you can select this preset from the Develop Settings popup in the Apply During Import section of the right panel in the Import dialog. Once you import the photos, they will all update to reflect the preset, which in this case means the White Balance adjustment will be set automatically by Lightroom Classic.
You could also batch process the images after import by selecting all of them and turning on the Auto Sync option by clicking the toggle switch on the left side of the Sync button at the bottom of the right panel in the Develop module. With Auto Sync enabled any adjustments you apply to the active image will synchronize in real time to all selected photos. You could use this approach to set a specific value for both the Temp and Tint sliders, for example, or by choosing a preset or “Auto” from the WB popup.
