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Pixelmator Pro User Guide
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  • Welcome
  • Pixelmator Pro basics
    • Interface overview
    • Pixelmator Pro tools
    • Zoom in and out of an image
    • Scroll, pan, or rotate an image
    • Undo or redo changes
    • Choose and manage colors in Pixelmator Pro
    • Use the Pixelmator Pro Photos extension
    • Print a Pixelmator Pro document
    • Use text field math
    • Pixelmator Pro settings
      • General settings
      • Editing settings
      • Ruler, grid, and guide settings
      • Workspace settings
      • Apple Pencil settings
    • Customize the Tools sidebar
    • Customize the Pixelmator Pro toolbar
    • Use the Touch Bar with Pixelmator Pro
    • Automate tasks in Pixelmator Pro
  • Create, open, and save images
    • Open an image
    • Create a new image
    • Working with templates
    • Working with mockups
    • Edit from Photos
    • Import an image
    • Save and name an image
    • Close an image
    • About the Pixelmator Pro file format
    • About Pixelmator Pro sidecar files
  • Automatically edit images
    • Automatically enhance colors
    • Automatically increase image resolution
    • Remove color banding
    • Automatically reduce noise
    • Remove image background
    • Hide image background
    • Automatically crop and straighten images
    • Automatically match image colors
    • Decontaminate colors
  • Work with layers
    • Create layers
    • Color adjustments and effects layers
    • Use the Arrange tool
    • Select layers
    • Move and align layers
    • Resize, rotate, and flip layers
    • Transform layers
    • Convert layers into pixels
    • Use rulers
    • Use alignment guides
    • Organize and manage layers
    • Replace image
    • Video layers
  • Add masks
    • Working with bitmap masks
    • Working with vector masks
    • Open and edit images with Portrait Masks
    • Use clipping masks
  • Customize layers using styles
    • Adjust the opacity of a layer
    • Change the blend mode of a layer
    • Add an outline around a layer
    • Fill a layer with a color or gradient
    • Add an inner shadow to a layer
    • Add a drop shadow to a layer
    • Layer style presets
  • Adjust colors
    • White balance an image
    • Adjust hue, saturation, and vibrance
    • Adjust lightness, clarity, and texture
    • Selectively adjust clarity and texture of an image
    • Selectively balance the colors in an image
    • Adjust individual colors in an image
    • Adjust the levels of an image
    • Adjust the tonal curve of an image
    • Replace one color in an image with another
    • Remove color from an image or video
    • Manually convert a color image to black and white
    • Convert an image to black and white with a color tint
    • Apply a sepia tint
    • Fade the shadows or highlights of an image
    • Mix the color channels of an image
    • Invert the colors of an image
    • Apply a vignette
    • Sharpen an image
    • Add film grain to an image
    • Apply LUTs
    • Color adjustment presets
    • Working with RAW images
    • Reading histograms
    • About color management
    • Change the color profile of an image
    • Change the color depth of an image
    • See what an image looks like on another device
  • Retouch and reshape layers
    • Remove an object from an image
    • Copy part of an image from one area to another
    • Lighten a specific area of an image
    • Darken a specific area of an image
    • Make a specific area of an image more vibrant
    • Desaturate a specific area of an image
    • Sharpen a specific area of an image
    • Soften a specific area of an image
    • Smudge a specific area of an image
    • Warp a specific area of an image
    • Bump a specific area of an image
    • Pinch a specific area of an image
    • Twirl a specific area of an image
  • Add effects
    • Apply blur effects
    • Apply distortion effects
    • Apply sharpen effects
    • Apply color adjustment effects
    • Apply tile effects
    • Apply stylize effects
    • Apply halftone effects
    • Apply generator effects
    • Apply fill effects
    • Apply other effects
    • Effect presets
  • Paint and erase
    • Use the brushes browser
    • Stroke with a brush
    • Quickly fill an image with color
    • Fill specific areas of an image with color
    • Fill with the Gradient Fill tool
    • Paint with the Pixel Paint tool
    • Erase using the Smart Erase tool
    • Edit brush settings
    • Create a brush
    • Share and import brushes
  • Make selections
    • Select areas by shape or color
    • Select areas by drawing
    • Make rectangular, elliptical, or row selections
    • Select all opaque areas of a layer
    • Select the entire image
    • Automatically select a subject in an image
    • Adjust selections
    • Refine selections
    • Move, copy, and delete selected areas
    • Convert selections into shapes
  • Draw shapes and vector graphics
    • Arrange and combine shapes
    • Draw shapes with the Pen tool
    • Draw shapes with the Freeform Pen tool
    • Edit vector paths
    • Save and share custom shapes
  • Use the Type tool
    • Add text on a path
    • Copy and paste text
    • Use dictation to enter text
    • Change the font or font size
    • Add bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough to text
    • Convert text into an outline
    • Change the color of text
    • Change text capitalization
    • Align and space text
    • Format characters
    • Convert text into a shape or pixel layer
    • Text style presets
  • Resize, crop and straighten images
    • Rotate and flip an image
    • Trim away colored or transparent borders around an image
    • Reveal parts of an image beyond the canvas
    • Crop presets
    • Change the image size
    • Change the canvas size
  • Export and share images
    • Export an image or video for the web
    • Slice designs into individual images
    • Quickly export or share an optimized image
    • Export presets
  • Pixelmator Pro keyboard shortcuts
    • Customize keyboard shortcuts
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On this page
  • Adjust the white balance of the currently selected layer
  • White balance multiple layers in a composition
  • Manually adjust color temperature and tint
  • Automatically correct the white balance
  • White balance an image by choosing a neutral gray area
  • Show before and after or reset adjustments

White balance an image

PreviousAdjust colorsNextAdjust hue, saturation, and vibrance

Last updated 17 days ago

Sometimes, after shooting a particular scene, you may want to make the entire image warmer (more yellow) or cooler (bluer). Or you might notice that an image looks too warm, too cool, or has a green or magenta tint that you’d like to remove. The White Balance adjustment lets you do just that — you can adjust the white balance manually, or automatically using the machine learning-powered ML adjustment. ML uses computer vision to recognize objects in the image (for example, people, trees, or a sky), and white balances it to remove any unnatural color tints.

You can white balance a single layer or, using a color adjustments layer, multiple layers in a composition.

Adjust the white balance of the currently selected layer

  • Choose Format > Color Adjustments > White Balance from the Format menu at the top of your screen.

  • In the Tools sidebar, click the Color Adjustments tool and turn on White Balance.

  • Press A on your keyboard and turn on the White Balance adjustment.

White balance multiple layers in a composition

  • Choose Insert > Color Adjustments from the Insert menu at the top of your screen and turn on the White Balance adjustment in the Tool Options pane.

  • Click at the top of the Layers sidebar, choose Color Adjustments, and turn on the White Balance adjustment.

  • Press Shift ⇧ + Command ⌘ + A on your keyboard, and turn on the White Balance adjustment.

Note: If the adjustment isn't visible, you can turn it on from the Customize menu at the bottom of the Color Adjustments pane.

Manually adjust color temperature and tint

  1. Drag the Temperature slider to the left to make the image cooler, or to the right to make it warmer. Press and hold the Option ⌥ key before dragging if you’d like to extend the range of the Temperature slider beyond 100%. You can also enter a percentage value from –200% to 200%.

  2. Drag the Tint slider to the left to add a green tint (or neutralize a magenta tint) or drag the slider to the right to add a magenta tint (or neutralize a green tint). Press and hold the Option ⌥ key before dragging if you’d like to extend the range of the Tint slider beyond 100%. You can also enter a percentage value from –200% to 200%.

Automatically correct the white balance

Click ML in the Tool Options pane next to the White Balance adjustment

White balance an image by choosing a neutral gray area

Click the White Balance eyedropper and then click an area in your image that should be a neutral grey.

After doing this, you can manually fine-tune the automatic adjustments applied to your image by dragging the Temperature and Tint sliders.

Show before and after or reset adjustments

Show Original: Click the Show Original button or press Control ⌃ + M on your keyboard to see what the image looks like without any color adjustments.

Show Split Comparison: Option ⌥ – click the Show Original button, press Control ⌃ + C on your keyboard, or force-click the canvas.

To reset all Color Adjustments, click Reset at the bottom of the Color Adjustments pane.

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