Color temperature

In order to create images that represent reality, we need to understand the different components in light. The different colors of the rainbow are often referred to as having a temperature. This scale runs from 2 800 to 10 000 degrees Kelvin.

Examples

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Reception Indoor office lights. Standard light bulbs (3000 K) are warmer than daylight  and create a brown or yellow tone in your image. A blue filter may compensate for this.

If we compare images taken outdoors at different hours of the day, warmer (reddish) colors will appear at sunrise and sunset. At noon you will find neutral or white light. Depending on the camera placement in reference to the sunlight, different colors will affect the final image.
In narrow streets, the reflection of a blue sky may dominate the image. In order to neutralize unwanted blue color from the sky, photographers use skylight filters.

Indoor light sources differ in color temperature just as the colors of sunlight. It is sometimes difficult to compensate for, or neutralize, the coloration effect of electrical lighting found in retail business, banks and industrial settings. By learning how to calibrate the camera and understand color temperature, unwanted effects in your images may be limited.

Read more about the Kelvin temperature scale.

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