The Right Lamp Makes all the Difference

You could point a light at the wall and call it a day. But if you pay attention to the lamp you use, you can really maximize the final result.

Low voltage 4-inch lights use the MR16 lamp. This is a reflector lamp that emits a tight and focused beam of light. What’s great about these lamps is that they are readily available in a wide range of beam angles, ranging from a 10-degree narrow spot to a 60-degree wide flood.

The beam angle of the lamp is important because it determines the size of the cone of light that hits the picture or art piece. When possible, try to keep the beam similar in size to the frame or smaller. This creates a nice effect by making it appear as if the light is coming from within the picture, rather than shining on it. You can experiment with a 10-deg, 35-deg, and 60-deg lamp to see what looks best. You may find that aiming a 10-deg spot light at a certain portion of a picture looks better than washing the entire thing with a 60-deg flood light.

Correlated color temperature (CCT) is the specification of the color of the light from a lamp, measured in Kelvins (K). The lower the number, the warmer the light appears. Sticking to the 3000 Kelvin range is a good rule of thumb for picture lighting. It will ensure the colors appear bright and vivid.

Color accuracy is measured numerically by the color rendering index (CRI), with a highest possible value of 100. Using lamps that have a CRI above 90 will ensure that colors appear as they were intended. Obviously this is important when highlighting something like pictures or artwork. Having blues look green is not going to cut it.

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