Which term refers to a neutral light source that does not impart a color cast on objects?

• A. Sun
• B. Shade
• C. Bulb
• D. Neutral source

Answer: (A)

A neutral light source is one that illuminates without adding a color tint, so colors appear true to life. The sun provides a broad spectrum of wavelengths, and under typical daylight conditions it’s treated as a neutral white light reference, meaning it doesn’t inherently cast a color cast on objects. Shade, by contrast, is tinted because it’s filled with skylight and ambient blue from the sky, which shifts colors toward blue and makes it non-neutral. A bulb’s color balance depends on its design and can range from warm to cool, so it isn’t guaranteed to be neutral. While a term like neutral source would describe the idea directly, the sun is the natural, commonly understood neutral daylight source used for color accuracy in many contexts.