Photography is challenging, especially when it starts feeling purposeless. Thankfully, storytelling approaches offer a great deal of ease when it comes to existential or creative crises. Today, I want to share my experience about how colour temperature helps in achieving a consistent look across multiple images in a set or essay.
17 years ago , while discovering all the possibilities photography has to offer, I stumbled upon a definitive moment in my visual path. Recorded in a crappy desaturated jpeg file, was my first real encounter with socially themed photography. Nowadays, I love shooting in colour; and tweaking white-balance aids the story in a particular way.
Imagine a scene in a dimly lit apartment, where someone sits by a window during the late afternoon. This single moment can tell different stories just by messing with the white balance choices on our raw files:
- Tungsten – 3200K: The warm cast transforms the scene into an intimate portrait of solitude. The natural window light dwells with the implied warmth of indoor lighting, delivering a cosy atmosphere which speaks of comfort and ease. Click here for more on when, where and how to use tungsten light!
- Daylight – 5500K: A standard neutral temperature for a great variety of scenes. Here, the intention is showing the scenes as our eyes would typically perceive them.
- Fluorescent – 4200K: The slightly cool and greenish cast can create an unsettling undertone. What was cosy in tungsten becomes clinical, institutional or even spooky (by @patrick). The same folk from before now might appear more isolated, like trying to escape from something unseen.
- Shade – 7500K: Pronounced cool tones transforming late afternoon into what feels like early morning or deep twilight. And for those into real-estate photography, mind that blue tones make indoor spaces feel larger and even empty, so keep your finger in line when tweaking that Kelvin scale.
As you can imagine, each temperature choice acts like a different narrator telling the same story through their unique lens. Almost like the gospels from the Bible or the overlapping plot from that Blockbuster movie Vantage Point, different ranges on the scale work for telling a different story upon the same thing.
Last in our colour theory theme, we have some striking examples of temperature tones in photography posted in our forums. Expect adequate use of white balance, some nice cold and warm drama as colour gradients and more!
Photo of the Week
Shooting vertical frames is something I truly respect. It defies our horizontal way of seeing the world. The first time I noticed the existence of vertical frames was because of my mum who always shot film in portrait mode. The second time was when I stumbled upon “Barcelona Vertical” by Søren Berenguer.
Earlier this year, I embarked on a new documentary project which demands a lot of vertical shots. Frankly, I really enjoyed working that way. All I needed was remembering those particular moments of vertical inspiration. Having said that, I wanted to highlight the verticality of this frame. But what makes this a POTW is that strong juxtaposition between the eyes on the graffiti girl and the folks on the top of the frame:

Congrats Patrick, and thanks for sharing such a high quality photograph with us!
Weekly Photography Challenge Digest
Thanks again to Rob and Dahlia for pushing our creative boundaries one step forward every week!













For contributing in this challenge, check out the original challenge post! And for participating in any of our forums, click here. Don't forget to check the photo contest winners for Light and Shadow Play; and remember, this month's photo contest is now open for entries. The theme is “Visual Metaphors.” Submit your photos for a chance to win $250 and please don't forget voting as well. Last but not least, check out the Members Picks for January. The instructions are pretty straightforward:
Members reference what you might consider a five star photo. Give a call out to the photographer and share their photo even if it lies in the Shark Tank and feel free to give a Critique on why it trips your Trigger. Be sure to mention the photographer and the Thread you saw it in.
And if you want to make the most out of your Light Stalking user account, make sure to check the latest posts. Also, don't forget to swim the Mobile Monday Challenge! Last but not least, Check out the current reading throwdown, it has some nice insights and recommendations!
We'd Love To Hear Your Thoughts
Our Feedback Forum is a fine place for all those people wanting to grow fast as photographers. Here, you'll get your work reviewed by well-intended photographers, but you'll also have the chance of commenting on the work of others. We believe in the power of feedback, and here are the latest shots shared in the pool:
- 2nd place in the best hat category
- Sitting on the rocks
- The crowd goes wild!
- Dead Tree
- Popcorn Cassia
- 2890
- Blowing in the Wind
- Tulips composition 1
- Tulips composition 2
- Apple Blossoms
- Lunar Park
- Caught in the Flow
- Life or Death on a Flower
- Sunshine & False Sunflower
- Squint
The Shark Tank is a great place to learn and to discuss, but please read the instructions in order to get a better experience. Share your comments, opinions and doubts on any or all of the images above. We also will be delighted to see some of your own images. Remember all comments are given to the photographs; not the photographers. Also, don't forget to participate in our upcoming challenge!