Lecture Notes on White Balance and Color Temperature

Introduction

• Presenter: Greg from Lens Protego
• Topic Overview: Discussing white balance and color temperature in photography/videography

White Balance

• Definition: Process of adjusting your camera to reproduce white accurately, ensuring that white appears as it does in real life.
• Camera Menu Settings:
  • Presets to adjust white balance: Tungsten (3200K), Fluorescent (4300K), Daylight
  • Custom white balance settings range from 2000K to 11,000K on some cameras.
  • Typical camera range: 2500K to mid-8000K
• Unit: Kelvin (K)

Color Temperature

• Definition: Refers to the color of the light source itself, not the camera settings.
• Common Ranges:
  • 2000K: Candlelight
  • 2800K - 3400K: Tungsten light (common in bedside lamps, floor lamps)
  • 4500K: Fluorescent light (offices, hospitals)
  • 5600K - 6500K: Daylight (varies with weather, e.g., overcast vs. bright sky)
  • 8000K: Moonlight look

Practical Examples

• Setup: 7 lights with varying color temperatures used to demonstrate.
• Effects of White Balance:
  • As the white balance changes, the perception of light color changes.
  • Warmer lights: Appear redder as you go below the white balance setting.
  • Cooler lights: Appear bluer as you go above the white balance setting.
• Demonstration: Adjusting camera's white balance and observing changes in light perception:
  • White balance set at various points (2000K, 2800K, 3400K, 4500K, 5600K, 6500K, 8000K)
  • Observations on how lights appear warmer or cooler relative to camera’s white balance setting.

Mood and Emotion

• Scene Adjustments:
  • Changing white balance affects the scene's mood.
  • Example: At 5600K, the scene has neutral white light; at 4000K, it appears cooler; at mixed settings, varied emotional tones are achieved.
  • Practical uses: Mixing warm and cool lights to create different atmospheres and emotions in photography and videography.

Conclusion

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These notes provide a comprehensive overview of the topics covered, including the technical aspects of white balance and color temperature, practical applications, and the impact on visual storytelling.