Inside the booth
Why two equally warm booth lights can render skin differently
A single colour-temperature number cannot describe the full light spectrum.
Two lamps can look similarly warm yet produce different skin and clothing colours in a camera. Their spectral output matters because the subject reflects only the parts of light that reach it.
Temperature is not a complete colour score
Correlated colour temperature summarises one aspect of a light’s appearance, but different spectral distributions can share a similar value. Camera colour rendering also depends on the sensor filters, white balance and image pipeline.
Compare real subjects
Photograph the same person and colour reference under each candidate lamp at the booth position. Keep exposure and white balance fixed, then compare skin, a neutral patch and saturated clothing. A lamp’s packaging metric alone cannot prove that the complete camera workflow will match.
Choose consistency over a single number
Select the light that gives stable, plausible results across the colours your guests wear. Record the exact lamp and dimmer state. If you replace a source, rerun the test rather than assuming similar colour temperature means identical camera output. The comparison describes this camera and these samples only; it is not a universal ranking of lamp technologies.
Sources & further reading
Sources for the specific facts and product descriptions above. Our worked examples, interpretations and practical suggestions are original editorial guidance.
- CIE, Position Statement on CRI and Colour Quality MetricsInternational lighting body position statement