Creative studio lighting
James Paterson demonstrates how to use colour gels over your lights to craft delightfully vibrant portraits
Utilize coloured gels for vibrant portraits
Colour gels are a wonderful way to enhance your lighting and add impact to portraits. By placing a gel in front of a flash or LED you can tint the light to any shade you like. Whether you want a bold colourful backdrop or an atmospheric colour tint over your subject, gels are very handy. What’s more, they’re inexpensive and can be used over budget Speedlights, so a simple lighting setup – with a couple of gelled
Speedlights – won’t cost a lot. And you really don’t need a studio to create beautiful colour gel portraits, any large space will do.
Here, we’ll look at a range of techniques for creative gel photography, from bold vibrant looks to moody low-key effects. We’ll explore complementary colour combos and explain the best way to gel your lights. Many of the skills here can also apply to general studio portraiture, like setting the right exposure and controlling the spread and hardness of your lights.
You can also explore a vast array of colour combos which, when tailored to your subject’s look, outfit and accessories, give you full creative control. Like an artist with a set of paints, you can spread colours over your subject and scene, mix them together, tint different areas and blend colours at will.