Color Temperature
5500K
Hex
#ffedde
Mired
182
CIE x,y
0.334, 0.344
5500K
#ffedde
255, 237, 222
#ffedde
0.3345, 0.3439
182
Daylight balanced. Standard for photography and video.
Daylight balanced (no shift needed)
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Result
2700K is the classic warm white of incandescent bulbs. The RGB value shows strong red and moderate green with minimal blue, creating the warm amber glow associated with cozy home lighting.
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Result
6500K (D65) is the standard reference white for monitors and print proofing. It appears nearly pure white with a very slight blue tint, matching average north-facing daylight.
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Result
10000K represents the very blue light of a clear sky or deep shade. Photos taken in shade without white balance correction will have a strong blue cast at this color temperature.
Color temperature describes the hue of a light source on the Kelvin (K) scale. Lower values (2700–3000K) produce warm, yellowish light like incandescent bulbs. Higher values (5000–6500K) produce cool, bluish-white light like daylight. The scale is based on the color a theoretical black body radiator emits when heated to that temperature.
Kelvin to RGB conversion uses polynomial approximation algorithms since the relationship is not a simple formula. For temperatures between 1000K and 40000K, the Tanner Helland or Neil Bartlett algorithms provide accurate results. The red channel peaks at low temperatures, green is mid-range, and blue dominates at high temperatures.
Set your camera’s manual Kelvin white balance to match the ambient light: 3200K for tungsten/indoor, 5200–5500K for daylight/flash, 6000–6500K for cloudy/shade. Shooting in RAW lets you adjust white balance in post-processing without quality loss.
Most people prefer 2700–3000K (warm white) for living rooms and bedrooms, 3500–4000K (neutral white) for kitchens and bathrooms, and 5000K (daylight) for workshops and reading areas. Mixing color temperatures in the same room creates a jarring, unpleasant effect.
Color temperature describes the hue of the light itself (warm vs cool), while CRI (Color Rendering Index) measures how accurately the light reveals the true colors of objects. A light can be 3000K with CRI 65 (poor) or CRI 95 (excellent) — same color but vastly different rendering.
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Read our guide
Read our guide
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Last Updated: Mar 16, 2026
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