The color temperature It is something that we become aware of mainly when we enter the world of photography or cinema.
It is true that, as human beings, we are capable of intuiting that there are different shades of light, especially in those that are very marked, such as the warm light of sunrises and sunsets.
Nevertheless, our vision continually adapts and corrects those tones that the different lights that surround us have, without hardly realizing it. That is, if there is something white, our brain tells us that it is white and we perceive it as white, even though it may actually be reflecting light of a specific hue.
Our sensors, at the moment, are not capable of correcting the colors of the different lights by themselves. That is why, although many times you see the image with a white tone and appropriate colors, the sensors respond with an image with a dominant that is not always to your liking.
Today we will talk about color temperature, but I recommend that you delve into the subject of lighting in photography in this very complete article in which we collect all the essential information.
What is color temperature?
Without going into complex definitions, in wavelengths, light spectra in black bodies and a long etcetera of concepts related to color temperature, I would like to define color temperature in a simple way, let’s see if I can do it 😉 .
Color temperature is the hue of different light sources. That is, although we do not perceive it with the naked eye because our eyes have the ability to correct these dominant tones, different lights contain different tones (colors).
If you look at the following three images carefully, you can see three types of color temperatures. The first neutral, the second balanced towards cool tones, and the third towards warm tones.
color temperature It is measured in degrees Kelvin (K), the higher the value, the cooler the light, and the lower the value, the warmer. White light is considered to be around 5,500K, which is the light of the flash or the central hours of the day.
Everything that is out of the approximate value of 5,500 to 6,000K, will have a specific tone that will be cold or warm depending on the type of light.
the warm tones of light correspond to sunrises and sunsets and most indoor lights. Instead, the coldest lights correspond to shadows, cloudy days, LCD screens or the well-known blue hour.
Here are some examples of the most common types of lights and their color temperature:
- 1700 K: Light from a match
- 1850K: candle light
- 2700–3300 K: Incandescent or tungsten light (conventional home lighting)
- 4100–4150 K: Moonlight
- 5000K: Fluorescent Light
- 5500–6000 K: Daylight, electronic flash
- 6500 K: Daylight, cloudy
- 6500–10500 K: Television screen (LCD or CRT)
- 28,000–30,000 K: Lightning
Now, does this mean that we have to resign ourselves to the type of lighting that we have in front of us? Should we resign ourselves to those orange portraits that we get inside our own home?
The answer is no. Here is the answer to your prayers :).
What is white balance?
White balance is the way our cameras make up for those dominant hues of the different types of light.
And for this, what the white balance does is compensate the tonality of the light it receives, adding its opposite.
Too elaborate? So imagine that you have made a soup and that you want to get it to a lukewarm temperature. If it was cold you would add hot soup to it, and if it was hot you would add cold soup to it.
White balance does the same for neutral lighting. If the light is cold, it adds warmth. If it is warm it adds cold. That easy 😉
You have a complete article on white balance here.
What is RAW mode and what does it have to do with color temperature?
This is the format in which we usually recommend that you work, because it is the one that offers us images with more information. The RAW image is processed “raw” by the camera, that is, the camera does not apply any built-in adjustments by default as it does in other formats such as JPEG.
If you’re working with JPEG files, the camera decides certain settings for itself (which doesn’t mean you can’t like the result). It’s like editing an image without the ability to go back once you’ve done it. Edit on edit… have you ever tried it? Well that.
On the other hand, with the RAW format there is no type of adjustment beyond what you decide to give it in the subsequent processing, which means that you reach the edition with 100% possibilities, with which you can modify the color temperature to your liking and without obstacles.
Correct color temperature in editing
The white color not only is the sum of all wavelengthsbut it is also the color that reflects them, but luckily, we can correct that in all editing programs 🙂 .
You should be aware that with which the white is balanced, that is, that it is really white, the rest of the colors will also be balanced.
Normally, you will find the settings with the name of Temperature. In Lightroom it appears within the basic settings:
On the other hand, in Photoshop you have several ways to adjust the color temperature, perhaps the easiest is to go to Image->Adjustments->Color Balance:
Although, as I said, I think that in most editors, if not all, you will find this option :).
Gallery
If the saying “an image is worth a thousand words” applies to others, it does even more so for photography lovers, don’t you think? ;).
I leave you with two galleries, the first based on cool color temperatures and the second based on warm color temperatures. Observe what sensations they transmit to you. So you can see what you can achieve by squeezing the color temperature of the lights around you :).
cool light gallery
warm light gallery
Conclusions
Color temperature can be a great ally in your images as long as you know how to play with it, that is, how to correct it or how not to do it.
Because it can enhance the creativity of your look and the originality of your images, or help you achieve balanced images. I think it is demonstrated in the two previous galleries, right?
To begin with, I recommend that you practice with homogeneous sources, that is, with lights that produce only one specific type of light, so you can see how to correct or emphasize them easily.
Later you can dare with various light sources of different types. A good opportunity to start the blue hour in cities, where the sky is blue but at the same time you have the warm lights of the streetlights on.
I hope that this article has been useful to you and, above all, that it encourages you to practice with color temperature in your photos! 😉 A greeting and until next time.