The Basics of Color Gels in Photography
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Loading... - Joao Sousa
- 20 Jun 2022
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The use of strong and complementary colors is an ever-growing trend in photography. Many modern advertising campaigns feature bold and contrasting colors in order to draw your focus to the product or message they are trying to sell. One way to create such vibrant color in your own images is by using colored gels (also known as color filters, filter gels, lighting gels, or simply gels).
Learning to work with gels can help make your work stand out among the crowd and deliver eye-catching results. In this article, we will look into how to use color gels to add a creative flair to your lighting, opening up a world of possibilities for your photo sessions.
What Are Color Gels?
Color gels are essentially pieces of thin semi-transparent plastic (generally polycarbonate, polyester, or some other heat-resistant type) that change the color of your light.
There are two types of gels used in photography: creative color effects gels and color correction gels. The first ones will be used primarily for creating various color casts that have nothing to do with light source temperature. For example, if a red gel is placed in front of a light, it will make it red. A yellow gel will make it yellow, and a blue one blue. Those are different from light temperature and tint adjustment gels, which are used to balance light sources with the ambient lights around you.
Temperature Correction Gels
Temperature adjustment gels will make a light source “cooler” or “warmer” depending on what is used. For instance, a CTO (color temperature orange) will make a light warmer, whereas a CTB (color temperature blue) will make it colder. The CTO and CTB gels can be easily confused with orange and blue gels so it is important to understand that those gels are not the same, and will not give a similar effect at all. I remember once trying to recreate sunlight using a yellow gel, only to find out that this didn’t work at all.
A third rarely used gel, is the plus/minus green. It will make the light source have a green, or magenta tone. Essentially, there is a gel for each end of the “temperature adjustment” scale: CTO, CTB, minus green, plus green.
A word of caution: Before we go any further, you must be aware that gels can melt when placed on a hot light source. It is a good idea to purchase high-quality, heat-resistant gels made for cinema lights or avoid using modeling lamps unless they are LED lights with proper cooling.
The Basic Rule of Color Gels
Let’s dive right into how to go about working with gels. Starting with the most basic rule of every gel: it reduces overall light output. Think of gels as obstacles that cut a portion of the light’s power. Some gels like Profoto and Expo Imaging might say how much light was cut by each gel. As such, a blue gel cuts four stops of light, while a yellow one only cuts half a stop of light. You may want to intuitively dial the power-up and use gels on the most powerful light you have. Read More...
