A method for local automatic white balance (AWB) of wide dynamic range (WDR) images is provided that includes collecting statistics for local AWB by an image signal processor (ISP) from a first WDR image generated by the ISP, receiving, by the ISP, a plurality of local gain lookup tables (LUTs), one for each color channel, wherein the plurality of local gain LUTs is generated using the statistics, and applying, by the ISP, a gain value to each pixel in a second WDR image generated by the ISP, wherein the gain value for the pixel is determined by the ISP using the local gain LUT for the color channel of the pixel.