Color temperature is an measurement of the color of light. Color temperature is measured in units called Kelvin. Color temperature determine whether a light source will appear orange or blue to the persons viewing the light.
If the value of Kelvin for a light source are low, the light will appear orange to the viewer. However, if the value of Kelvin for a light source is high, the light will appear more blue to the viewer. Color temperature can be used to control the colors in an image.
How Color Temperature Affects Photos
Color temperature can be used to make an image appear warm or it can be used to make an image appear cool. The color temperature of light sources can differ. For instance, household light bulbs has low Kelvin values, so the light that they emit appear orange.
Sunlight during the morning and during the evening also has low Kelvin values for the same reason that morning and evening sunlight appears warm to those viewing the sky. Sunlight during the middle of the day have a neutral color temperature. Overcast skies has high Kelvin values so the light that they reflect appear blue.
Color temperature can be adjusted using a camera’s white balance controls. It is possible to set the white balance controls of a camera to match the color temperature of the light in which the camera is being use to take photographs. Alternatively, the photographer can intentionaly set the white balance to a value that does not match the color temperature of the light.
For instance, if the white balance is adjusted to a low value at the same time as taking photographs during the day, warmth will be added to the image that is being capture. Alternatively, if the white balance is adjusted to a high value in a space with tungsten lights, blue will be added to the image that is being captured. The presets that can be set on a camera can help to manage color temperature.
However, the presets that is set on cameras may not be the same for each brand of camera. For instance, one brand of camera may have a daylight preset that creates colors that appear cooler than the daylight preset on another brand of camera. Therefore, you should of tested the camera presets on the camera that is to be use with the camera to determine their effect on the colors that will be present in the images that are to be taken with that camera.
The color temperature of light change quickly during the golden hour and the blue hour. The golden hour in the time between sunset and sunrise when the sun is low on the horizon. During the blue hour, the sun is below the horizon.
Because the color temperature of the light change during these time periods, the colors in an image can change in a few minutes. While some photographers will keep the white balance of their cameras fixed at a value associated with daylight, other photographers may change the white balance controls of their cameras to blue to ensure that the golden hour time periods in the landscape dont appear too orange in there images. Color temperature is also utilized in studio lighting setups.
Strobes and LED lights that are balanced to daylight have a neutral color temperature. However, the lights that are based off tungsten lights have a warm color temperature. If daylight-balanced strobes and tungsten lights are used in the same studio lighting setup, the result will be mixed lighting.
Mixed lighting occurs when daylight-balanced lights and tungsten lights is used in the same lighting setup. For instance, a model may stand next to a window with daylight and blue lights while other lights in the studio may appear orange. Mixed lighting can be fixed by changing the light bulb next to the model, adding a colored filter to the light from the window, or simply accepting the presence of mixed lighting in the image that is created by the model.
A color temperature chart can help to photographers understand the color temperatures of the different types of lights that can be use in a photography studio.