Digital booths
What a light’s colour-rendering score can and cannot tell you
A lighting metric helps compare sources but does not guarantee perfect portraits.
Lighting boxes may list colour-rendering numbers, but a single score cannot predict exactly how every fabric, skin tone and camera will look. Use the metric as one clue, then test the complete booth.
Treat the metric as a summary
Colour-rendering metrics compare how a light renders selected colours relative to a reference. The CIE notes that lighting metrics and colour-quality methods require careful interpretation. Different spectra can produce different results even when one summary number looks similar.
Include camera and subject materials
Test skin, neutral fabric and saturated clothing with the intended camera and white-balance setting. A lamp that looks pleasant by eye may still produce a camera cast or uneven frame-to-frame colour. Keep exposure and distance fixed while comparing sources.
Buy based on the proof
Make the decision from real test strips, flicker behaviour and output needs, not the marketing number alone. Record the exact model and dimmer state. If the source changes later, repeat the test rather than transferring the old approval automatically. Metrics are useful for screening candidate lamps, but final colour depends on the camera, white balance and materials together.
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