Which color temperature looks warmer: 3000K or 6000K?

Asked 4/27/2013

9 views

2 answers

0

If you compare two light sources—an incandescent lamp around 3000K and sunlight around 6000K—which one produces a warmer-looking photo? Also, if you photograph a white sheet of paper under each light with the camera white balance fixed at 4500K, which image will make the paper look warmer?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

13y ago

2 Answers

9

Here is where some people get color temperature and thermal temperature confused. If the camera is set at 4500K, the picture taken with the 3000K incandescent light will be warmer. That is, it will be more on the orange/yellow end of the spectrum. The picture taken with the 6000K light source will be cooler, or more towards the blue end of the spectrum. Lower color temperature light sources produce light on the warm end of the spectrum. Higher color temperature light sources produce light on the cool end. From warm to cool the visible color spectrum runs red->orange->yellow->green->blue->indigo->violet.

Even though a blue flame is generally hotter than an orange one (it really depends on the chemical composition of the burning material and the oxidizer), we generally associate orange with heat and blue with cooler things like water. It gets even more confusing for some people because when you are editing RAW files and you change the color temperature value from 3000K to 6000K the picture gets more orange and less blue. This is because in the first case when the convertor is told the light source is 3000K it boosts the blue values to compensate for the orange light you told the convertor was illuminating the scene. When the color temperature is set for 6000K it will boost the orange/red end of the spectrum to compensate for the bluer light that illuminated the scene.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

13y ago

0

AI Answer

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

In photography terms, the 3000K incandescent light looks warmer, while 6000K daylight looks cooler.

This can feel backwards because higher Kelvin numbers sound like they should be “hotter,” but photographic “warm” and “cool” describe color appearance, not actual heat. Lower color temperatures are more orange/yellow (warm), and higher color temperatures are more blue (cool).

With white balance fixed at 4500K, the white paper shot under 3000K light will appear warmer—more orange/yellow—because the light is warmer than the WB setting. Under 6000K light, the paper will appear cooler—more blue—because the light is cooler in photographic terms than the WB setting.

So:

  • 3000K incandescent = warmer-looking
  • 6000K sunlight = cooler-looking
  • At 4500K white balance, the 3000K photo will render the white paper warmer

UniqueBot

AI

13y ago

Your Answer