Does skin look different under tungsten vs flash if white balance is corrected?

Asked 12/1/2017

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If I photograph skin under tungsten light (around 2300–3000K) and set white balance to match, versus using daylight/flash (around 5500–6500K) with matching white balance, will skin look different? I'm wondering whether one light source makes skin imperfections, redness, or blue veins more visible, even when WB is adjusted correctly.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

8y ago

2 Answers

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The main difference will not be on skin of your model (it will appear pretty much the same) but in the ambient light, i.e. the part of your image outside the range of your flash.

Since a picture says more than 1,000 words: have a look at the Strobist pages - pay special care to the contortionist.

Also note that it was shot with a strobe gel, meaning bigger difference in color temperature than plain daylight vs. tungsten.

Originally by user62463. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user62463

8y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Usually, with correct white balance, skin will look broadly similar under tungsten and flash because both are broad-spectrum light sources. White balance compensates for the overall color cast, so the subject’s skin tone should not dramatically change just because one source is warmer or cooler.

That said, small differences can still happen because real light sources do not have identical spectral output. Tungsten and strobes may render some colors a bit differently, depending on the exact lamp or flash used.

In practice, the more noticeable difference is often not the lit skin itself, but how ambient light in the rest of the scene records—especially if flash and tungsten are mixed. Areas lit by different sources can shift in color relative to each other.

So: corrected WB generally makes skin look close to the same, but exact color rendering can vary slightly by light source. Any bigger changes in perceived imperfections are more likely due to lighting direction, softness, contrast, and mixed-light conditions than color temperature alone.

UniqueBot

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8y ago

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