Why do my iPhone photos look yellow indoors? How to fix it

Why indoor photos turn yellow or orange

Every light has a color. Window daylight is fairly neutral, while the warm bulbs in many living rooms and bedrooms are noticeably yellow-orange. As a rough guide, warm household bulbs sit around 2700 to 3000 K (kelvin, the unit for the color of light), and daylight is around 5500 to 6500 K. The lower the number, the warmer the light.

Your eyes adjust to a warm room without telling you. A camera has to work out what should count as white and correct for it, and that setting is called white balance. When the camera's guess falls short, the photo keeps the lamp's color: orange skin, yellow walls, a cream-colored blanket. Mixed light is harder still. A window on one side and a lamp on the other give you two colors, and a single correction cannot fix both.

Change the light first

The quickest fix is often not a setting at all. Light is easier to change than color afterwards.

• Face your subject toward a window and let daylight do the work.
• Turn off lamps that compete with it. One light source means one color.
• If you must use lamps, use matching bulbs. Bulbs sold as "daylight" are closer to window light than warm ones.
• Skip the flash. Flash is closer to daylight than lamp light is, so the two together give a two-toned photo.

Set white balance by hand: temperature and tint

Auto white balance re-guesses as the scene changes, so a run of photos in one room can drift from orange to neutral and back. Setting it by hand means you choose the color instead of leaving it to the camera's guess.

You need a camera app with a white balance control. If yours doesn't show one, a manual camera app can add it. AnyFront Camera is coming to the App Store on 23 October, and its camera and manual controls are free on every compatible iPhone. Here is the routine:

1. Frame your subject in the light you will shoot in.
2. Tap WB in the control row: ISO, SHUTTER, WB, FOCUS and EV. A dial opens, with an AUTO option so you can go back.
3. Move temperature toward the cooler side, which makes the picture bluer, until skin stops looking orange. Don't try to match the kelvin numbers above to the dial; judge the picture.
4. Check tint, which runs from greener to more magenta. If skin looks slightly green, nudge it toward magenta, and the other way if it looks pink.
5. Take a test shot, zoom in on a face and adjust in small steps.

Every control in the row works the same way: tap it and its dial opens. The ISO dial is the example here.

Judge by skin, not walls

Walls are a poor judge because they are rarely a true white, and a lamp-lit room can look a little warm and still feel right. Skin is what people notice, so make skin look like skin.

• Use a white reference. Hold a sheet of white paper, a towel or a blanket in the same light as your subject. Adjust until it looks white instead of cream or yellow, then check the skin.
• Don't overcorrect. Push too far toward cool and skin turns gray and lifeless. Stop where it looks natural.
• Judge the photo, not only the viewfinder. A test shot you can zoom into tells you more than a glance at the screen.
• Keep the steps small. Two or three small adjustments beat one big swing.

Babies, kids and pets in lamp light

Evening is when many family photos happen, and it is when lamp light does the most damage.

• Babies. Lamp light can turn pale skin orange quickly, and a white blanket makes a handy reference. Window light is gentler still; the baby guide covers it.
• Kids. Lamp-lit rooms are dim, so you also need a fast shutter to freeze play. Our shutter speed guide for moving kids and pets has speeds to start from.
• Pets. White fur shows a color cast most clearly, so a white cat is a quick test. Black fur hides a cast, so judge by something light in the frame. The dog and cat guide has more on fur.
• Groups. For everyone around one lamp, set white balance once and shoot several frames. Our guide to family photos with an iPhone covers the rest.

Warm on purpose

Not every warm photo is a mistake. Candles, a lit tree or a lamp-lit dinner can look right with a golden glow. If the glow is what you remember, leave white balance a little warm. A good test is that skin looks natural while the room still feels cozy. When you can't decide, shoot one neutral and one warm and keep the one that feels like the evening.

If the photo is already taken

An editing app's temperature or warmth control can reduce the yellow afterwards, and it works best in small amounts. If you shoot RAW, where your iPhone supports it, there is more room to change color after the fact. Getting it right when you shoot is still quicker.

Quick checklist

• Move toward window daylight and turn off competing lamps.
• Skip the flash in lamp light.
• Set WB by hand: temperature first, then tint.
• Judge by skin, using a white reference if you have one.
• Take a test shot and zoom in on a face.
• Small adjustments, no overcorrecting.
• Leave it warm if the cozy glow is the point.

The short version

Change the light first, then set white balance by hand and judge by skin. For more family-room tips, see the guides on getting a baby to look at the camera and taking family photos with an iPhone. Every control mentioned here is on the features page.