This article is comprised of excerpts from Archival Photography: How to photograph oversize photos, curled documents, and heirloom treasures.

The book contains over 100 pages and more than 80 images to help you through all kinds of archival photography. See the book details here.

Lighting is Very Important

Light comes in many colors, even if we think they are all white. Bulbs are branded with names like Bright White, Soft White, and Daylight, though in technical terms they are rated with the temperature of the light (measured in Kelvin units, K). This temperature measurement should not be confused with light bulb heat. This light temperature is a scale developed to describe the range of light from infrared to ultraviolet. Somewhere in the middle is what we call daylight.

The following illustration shows different light sources and their colors. Colors are represented in degrees Kelvin.

Range of Light Bulb Temperatures.

A variety of light bulbs with different temperatures are found in most households. Do not use different ones while shooting photographs. Stay with one color/temperature. Daylight bulbs give the best natural results, plus you can use them in conjunction with existing natural sunlight. Here is a summary of the common names, temperatures, and general color cast.

We recommend daylight bulbs, which give off a natural light.

• Daylight: ~5000°K - Natural Light
• Soft White: ~3000 ° K – Yellow/Orange Cast
• Halogen: ~3200° - 3400 K - Yellow Cast
• Bright White: ~3500° K - Yellow Cast
• Cool White: ~4000°K - Yellow cast
• Fluorescent: ~4500° K - Neutral

Note: Some cameras overcompensate for color and give a red/yellow hue to pictures taken indoors.