What is color temperature and why it matters?

How we see things in real life or in pictures is greatly dependent on the light we have available. We only see things that are illuminated by light. During the day it’s the Sun that is doing the illumination and during the night we use various devices like bulbs and lamps to allow us to see.

Lighting temperature is an important property of light that determines how cool or warm a light appears and illuminates objects. Color temperature is the reason why things appear different during dusk as compared to midday.

Why is Color Temperature Important?
Color temperature plays an important role in setting the mood and the general vibe of the picture. In fact, a very common use of color temperature in videography is using it to depict geographical locations.
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A warmer country is depicted by using a warm color temperature, while a colder country is depicted by using cooler color temperatures. This is the reason countries like Mexico are shown with a yellowish hue color and cooler countries like Germany with more of a bluish tint. 

Kobe by notethanunvia via Unsplash

​Filmmakers and professional photographers use a combination of using physical light and post-processing to get the perfect color tint for the mood they are going for. The color temperature of light conveys a lot about.

How is color temperature measured?

​Color temperature is measured using degree Kelvin (K). Kelvin is the unit of measurement for thermodynamic temperature, but it is also used to measure the temperature of light. The scale is used to tell varying degrees of warmness or coldness of the light. 

Color Tempreature Scale

The smaller the number, the warmer the light. The larger the number the colder the light. For example, the light during sunset and sunrise is 1850 K, while light during normal daylight or in overcast conditions has a color temperature of 6500 K.

What color temperature works for what scenario?

​Photographers and Cinematographers take the aid of various light temperatures to tell their stories. They draw inspiration from Color Theory. According to the color theory, every color has psychological meaning attached to it. 

For example, the color Red has the meaning of Rage, violence, and evil attached to it while colors like Blue send a subtle message of depression or sadness. This way photographers can use light to subtly give layers to their scenes.

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