Outdoor lighting produces a cool, blue tint, while incandescent light, like your basic house lamp give a warmer feel. Fluorescent lights fall in the middle of the color temperature spectrum. If you’ve never noticed this, stand near a window in your living room and look back and forth between the window (outside), and the inside of the room. You’ll notice a difference between the warmer color in the room (more yellow), and the bluer/cooler color outside the window.

So a few tips on how to USE color temperature to “set the mood” in your video.

First, avoid your typical office fluorescent lighting when shooting video with people, especially over 40. That color temperature is not very flattering.
Use warmer, incandescents for a friendly, soft, and comfortable feel. Perfect for an interview or testimonial.

There are also LEDs available which come in different color temperatures including warm white, cool white, and daylight. LEDs will cost a little more than your average bulb, but can be great for video.

We hope you enjoyed learning some basics of color temperature today. If you have questions about the subject, or any other video production needs, please give us a call.