Colour temperature is measured in K and ranges from low blue temperatures to higher orange temperatures. Colour temperature varies by light source. Tungsten lights, standard domestic lights, appear warm and orange to most cameras. When shooting using a tungsten white balance the white point is moved higher meaning that things that would otherwise appear orange appear white and things that would otherwise appear white now appear blue.
In the example above the white balance has been set for the tungsten house lights in the kitchen and a flash without a gel has been used to light the foreground. Normally light from a flash is appears white in camera. However as the flash has a cooler colour temperature than the house lights (which the white balance has been set for) here the light from the flash appears blue.
The shot above is exactly the same as the first except this time the white balance has been set for the flash. Now the areas lit by the flash appear white and the areas lit by the tungsten house lights appear orange.
This is useful to know especially if you want to change the mood of the photo.
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