1. An image processing method comprising: using a processor to perform the following steps: (i) sampling image data of an original image; (ii) analyzing the image data sampled in said sampling step, based on luminance and color components of the image data; (iii) determining a rotation matrix for a color balance correction based on an analysis result obtained in said analyzing step; and (iv) executing the color balance correction on pixel data of the original image, based on the rotation matrix determined in said determining step.