Light. Brightness. White Balance and Color Temperature. White Balance and Color Temperature in Digital Photography By Jim Altengarten, exposure36 Photography One of the confusing aspects of switching to digital photography is the white balance setting on your camera. We will explain why that setting is necessary and provide tips on using white balance settings to add creativity to your photos. The three primary colors that form white light (Red, Green, and Blue) exist in various proportions in any lighting situation--depending upon the color temperature of the light. When the color temperature is high, more blue light exists. When the color temperature is low, there is more red. You’ve probably experienced photographing with daylight film indoors under incandescent light.
Our natural visual system easily adapts to changes in the color temperature of light. You can verify these results using your digital camera. At this point, you may be scratching your head, wondering how light can be described by its color temperature. Kelvin temp guide.