Lighting by the Kelvin Scale

When I set up my studio in 1983 I consulted a lighting specialist who advised me to buy fluorescent lighting that was 5500 degrees Kelvin. Whatever that meant. I followed his advice and found that the lighting was ideal for my color studies and painting and have recommended to my students that they use this kind of lighting in their studios. A couple of weeks ago I showed my class what a difference it made in my color charts to see them under a portable Ott-lite. The classroom has regular fluorescent lighting in it. I went to the Internet and found several charts, which I combined into the one you see here. The best lighting for artwork is in the range of 5000-6000K. The Color Rendering Index (CRI) should be 70 or higher for excellent, 60-70 for good color matching. Anything under 60 is unacceptable. There are several companies that make lights that meet these specifications. Google full spectrum lighting to look over your options. Expect to pay more, but expect them to last longer and give you much better results than incandescent or halogen quartz lamps.

References: www.3drender.com
cameraguild.com