Color Temperaturegeneral
How warm (orange) or cool (blue) a light source is, measured in Kelvin.
Candlelight is ~1800K (very warm), daylight ~5500K, shade ~7500K (cool). White balance neutralizes it; sometimes you keep it for mood. Lower Kelvin = warmer, higher = cooler — which feels backwards at first.
Use this when
- Setting WB manually: match the Kelvin to the light
Common mistake: Mixing warm indoor light with cool window light and getting two color casts.