Reference White Is A Myth

One of the most popular posts on our blog is about HDR reference white, which has been standardized as 203 nits. But in reality, there is no such thing as reference white, any more than there is a fixed value for 18% gray or fair skin. Diffuse white can be 145 nits indoors or as much as 400 nits outdoors, skin tones can be + 1.7 stops brighter outdoors than indoors, and the same goes for 18% gray!