COLOUR YOUR LIGHTS

Frank Myrland’s (frankmyrland.com) guide to quick and easy gel effects

1

PREPARE THE SHOT The first step is to prepare your lighting setup. When shooting with gels, you’ll start by setting up your offcamera flashes as you would for a typical shot. Take the time to decide whether you will be gelling your key light or your secondary lights.

2

KEY OR FILL? Gelling the key light will dramatically change the image, and may create a surreal or futuristic look if you are taking a portrait. Gelling your fill or rim lights is effective for providing an interesting accent or splash of colour that doesn’t call too much attention to itself.

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SELECT COLOUR THEME Once you’ve mastered the art of gelling with one colour, you can start adding a second. Having a basic understanding of which colours work together will help, unless you are willing to simply experiment to find the results you’re looking for.

4

CHANGE BACKGROUND Another creative option is to fire the flash at the wall or other objects in the photo. This can instantly create a coloured background for your portrait, regardless of where you are shooting. The brighter the flash, the less saturated the colour will be.