Light Sources and Their Color Temperature - How to Get Better Colors on your camera

May 13, 2008 by admin

According to Wikipedia.. Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light that has important applications in photography, videography, publishing and other fields. The color temperature of a light source is determined by comparing its chromaticity with a theoretical, heated black-body radiator. The temperature (usually measured in kelvin (K)) at which the heated black-body radiator matches the color of the light source is that source’s color temperature;

“The Kelvin Scale (K) can be used to define a relationship between the heat property of the light and the color. The lower the Kelvin temperature, the warmer (red/long wavelength) the light, while the higher the number, the cooler (blue/short wavelength) the light.” - Camera 101 -White Balancing

Color Temperature Scale

Here is a list of Light Sources and their Color Temperature.

1700 K Match flame

1850 K Candle flame

2800–3300 K Incandescent light bulb (75w, 100w, 200w)

3200 K 500 watt tungsten lamp

3350 K Studio “CP” light

3400 K Studio lamps, photofloods, 500 watt photolamp

4100 K Moonlight, xenon arc lamp

5000- 5400 K Horizon daylight

5500 K Photographic Daylight

5500–6000 K Typical daylight, electronic flash

6500 K Daylight, overcast

9300 K CRT screen

Why is this scale useful? It will help you keep your whites whiter and that is important in any shoot.. if you see the color cast on the photo, you can easily compensate by adjusting the Kelvin scale to increase or decrease the color temperature depending on your requirement.

Is AUTO White Balance fool proof? I am afraid not.. in certain mixed lighting conditions, the mix of light may be too bluish or orangish.. depending on which is the more dominant light source. You will have to adjust the kelvin scale on your camera to get a good balance between light sources. a shorcut would be to do a custom white balance against a white surface or a gray card or even use a EXPODISC (sample shots here).

Are their other uses of Color Temperature? Yes.. you can do creative photography by using color balance to change the mood of the photo to make it warmer.. or cooler depending on what you want to convey to your viewers. You can actually cool down a sunset by changing the white balance.. try it..from warm sunny skies you will get a cold blue sky..

Here are 3 photos using Different White Balance Settings.

Expodisc sample photo

using the EXPODSIC

Auto White Balance

Using Auto white balance

incandescent auto white balance

Using Incandescent White Balance.

For record purposes i submitted the first photo to get the proper colors.. but the last one has more mood into it and made it look more warm and cozy… which one do you prefer?

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Tagged: color balance, creative photography, horizon, images, photography, photos, white balance

Comments

8 Responses to “Light Sources and Their Color Temperature - How to Get Better Colors on your camera”

smiles4angels on May 14th, 2008 7:12 am

very useful information. i’ve trying to mix and match for a while now. at least i would have a baseline. i like to 3rd photo better than the first. thanks.
Administrator on May 14th, 2008 10:03 pm

thank you!

come back for more, ill be posting some new lessons after i get back from my vietnam trip! photos of vietnam coming soon too!
haggis basher on May 18th, 2008 10:07 am

Like you say the last one has warmth and feeling where as the first one maybe colour correct but feels cold and clinical.
What are you trying to do with your camera, record the scene as it is or as you perceive it?
flytraff on May 18th, 2008 10:16 am

Simply informative!!!

Will try to use expodisc…:)
Rolly Magpayo on May 18th, 2008 11:23 am

I like the third one too. I can see some cool colors even though the whole scene is warm. I looks more natural.
Lhor Santillan on May 18th, 2008 6:17 pm

Thanks for the info…very helpful.
Controlling White Balance in Your Photos | Shutterbug Source Photography Tips on June 10th, 2008 1:01 am

[...] Light Sources and Their Color Temperature - How to Get Better … You will have to adjust the kelvin scale on your camera to get a good balance between light sources. a shorcut would be to do a custom white balance against a white surface or a gray card or even use a EXPODISC (sample shots here). … [...]
Beginning In Photography: White Balance | Shutterbug Source Photography Tips on July 9th, 2008 6:57 am

[...] Light Sources and Their Color Temperature - How to Get Better … - Is AUTO White Balance fool proof? I am afraid not.. in certain mixed lighting conditions, the mix of light may be too bluish or orangish.. depending on which is the more dominant light source. You will have to adjust the kelvin scale on … [...]