Temperature / tint effect

Colour temperature describes how warm (orange) or cool (blue) a light source looks. Our eyes adjust automatically, but cameras can record a yellow or blue cast under tungsten bulbs, shade or overcast skies. Adjusting temperature moves the photo along the blue–orange axis to correct or exaggerate that cast.

Tint works on the perpendicular axis between green and magenta, which is often needed for fluorescent lighting or mixed light. Together, the two controls make up white-balance adjustment; pushed to extremes, they also work as creative colour grading.