White balance - DPChallenge Forums

04/26/2009 03:20:17 PM · #1

So, I have this question. If a take 2 properly exposed pictures of a white piece of paper, one under incandescent light at approx color temp of 3000K and another one under the sun light with approx color temp of 6000K, camera set at a white balance of 4500K, which photo would appear warmer? I think they they both would appear the same? Am I correct?

04/26/2009 03:41:30 PM · #2

It is impossible for me to say whether or not you or correct, and hard enough to judge whether your statement is correct. I would think not, as that would rather render the pre-setting of a given white balance pointless. When white balance is automatic, it should ideally compensate for variations in colour temperature. When white balance is fixed, higher temperatures should register as higher and lower temperatures as lower.

Please excuse my idiom, I've just been watching Peter O'Toole as Mr Chips.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

04/26/2009 04:25:30 PM · #3

Part of the problem is what you mean by the word "warmer," because the "cooler" temperatures (reds and yellows) are "emotionally" warmer, while the high-temperature colors (blue-white) are emotionally associated with coolness.

04/26/2009 04:28:29 PM · #4

Originally posted by raish:

So, you think the image shot in incandescent light at 3000K will result in warmer tones, correct? The fixed white balance of 4500K is not going to change that fact, right?

04/26/2009 04:34:32 PM · #5

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Warmer in appearance, not actual temperature

04/26/2009 04:43:42 PM · #6

This chart shows the temperature of colours, as measured in Kelvins. Note that the colours at the top, with the higher temperatures, are those that are normally called cold colours, while those at the bottom are known as warm colours.

So when you say 'warmer in appearance', you mean closer to the red end of the spectrum?

ETA: fixing the white balance changes the tones - that's why you do it.

Message edited by author 2009-04-26 16:45:27.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

04/26/2009 04:51:13 PM · #7

Originally posted by maggieddd:

Originally posted by raish:
It is impossible for me to say whether or not you or correct, and hard enough to judge whether your statement is correct. I would think not, as that would rather render the pre-setting of a given white balance pointless. When white balance is automatic, it should ideally compensate for variations in colour temperature. When white balance is fixed, higher temperatures should register as higher and lower temperatures as lower.

Please excuse my idiom, I've just been watching Peter O'Toole as Mr Chips.

So, you think the image shot in incandescent light at 3000K will result in warmer tones, correct? The fixed white balance of 4500K is not going to change that fact, right?

I think that agrees with what I said as well. Likewise, if you shoot in ordinary daylight using the Tungsten WB setting, everything will be shifted towards the blue.
Tungsten WB:

Daylight WB:

Be careful to allow time to experiment, as the shift towards yellow can get too extreme quite easily.

Another way to simulate the use of a warming filter is to set a custom WB under the lighting you'll be using, but using not a white/grey card but one in the complementary color of what you want, in this case blue.

04/26/2009 05:07:24 PM · #8

thanks. Well, this question is on my homework assignment. So I guess the answer is the white paper shot under the incandescent light will appear warmer no matter what the camera white balance setting is. The reason I thought that it would be the same was because incandescent light is warmer so I thought this is probably some tricky question since the question states that the camera white balance is set to 4500K which is exactly in the middle between 3000K and 6000K.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

04/26/2009 05:50:05 PM · #9

Since you have the means, why not confirm our hypothesis by actual experimentation? We could be wrong, you know ... ;-)

04/26/2009 05:57:45 PM · #10

It is some tricky question. There may be some reason for whoever posed the question to have played the trick on you, e.g. to highlight the confusion between warmer colours and colours of higher colour temperature. I, too, would tend to think of incandescent light as warmer, but it has a lower colour temperature than daylight.

Submit an intuitive answer. Nobody likes a smartarse.

:)

04/26/2009 06:11:06 PM · #11

So here is the whole question exactly the way it was phrased. The first part I answered that incandescent produces warmer tones.
The second part I have no idea.

Assume you have two sources of light: incandescent light at an approximate color
temperature of 3000 K, and the sun with an approximate color temperature of 6000 K. Which source
produces warmer tones? If you take two properly-exposed photographs of a white sheet of paper, one
photo in each scene, with your camera set at a white balance of 4500 K, in which photo would the
paper appear warmer?

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

04/26/2009 06:29:29 PM · #12

Well, I just looked at a piece of white paper under an incandescent bulb, and the "daylight" and all WB settings other than "tungsten" made the paper look yellowish, which I'd consider visually "warmer."

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

04/26/2009 06:42:41 PM · #13

Sock it to 'em. Say it looks white if you stare at it long enough.

I think you've answered correctly. Same for the second part as for the first.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

04/26/2009 06:59:56 PM · #14

If you shoot daylight with a tungsten balance, the picture looks too blue. If you shoot tungsten with a daylight balance, the picture looks too yellow. In your example, setting the balance halfway between daylight and tungsten will produce the same results, but to a lesser degree. The image shot under tungsten will be warmer than the image shot under daylight.

In fact it doesn't matter what white balance you use. Tungsten light is warmer than daylight, so if you use the same white balance for both shots, the tungsten shot will always appear warmer than the daylight shot.

R.

Message edited by author 2009-04-26 20:12:41.

David Ey

Nikon D80

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

04/26/2009 07:14:15 PM · #15

Originally posted by maggieddd:

............two properly-exposed photographs of a white sheet of paper, one
photo in each scene,..........

What, exactly, does this mean?

04/26/2009 07:39:21 PM · #16

Originally posted by David Ey:

Originally posted by maggieddd:
............two properly-exposed photographs of a white sheet of paper, one
photo in each scene,..........

What, exactly, does this mean?

what do you mean what does that mean? The way you took it out, it means nothing, if you read the whole things it makes sense.

Message edited by author 2009-04-26 19:41:08.