Colour gels and flash

Learn how to use gels to craft vibrant portraits with James Paterson

Add some colour to portraits

Colour gels are a cheap yet wonderful way to enhance your lighting and add impact to your 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 can be a great choice. What’s more, they’re inexpensive, and can be used over equally affordable Speedlites.

So a simple lighting setup with a couple of gelled Speedlites won’t cost the earth. And you don’t really need a studio to create beautiful colour gel portraits, any large space will do.

In this project 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. Of course, many of the techniques here can also apply to general studio portraiture, like setting the right exposure and controlling the spread and hardness of your lights. If you’re looking for a way to add impact to your portraits then these techniques can give your images a huge boost. What’s more, you can explore a vast array of different colour combinations which, when tailored to your subject’s look, outfit and accessories, give you complete creative control over the final portrait.

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.