50 Shades of GEL

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Not wanting to be left out, here's a variation on a theme! 50 shades of colour from just 10 lighting gels. In this case picked from the LEE Filters Saturates Colour Magic 10" x 12" gel pack.

Colours used from left to right:
182 Light Red
027 Medium Red
105 Orange
135 Deep Golden Amber
101 Yellow
139 Primary Green
116 Medium Blue-Green
120 Deep Blue
181 Congo Blue
126 Mauve

Exposure was increased by 2/3rd stop for each frame going down the page, making the colours progressively less saturated and brighter. One or two of the colours have revealed some interesting effects.

A grey background paper was used as white tends to desaturate colours too much and black the effects can be just too subtle (dark requiring more power). Lighting a background whether in the studio opens new options including adding a sense of depth and dimension making the foreground stand out. Look at the work of Rick Friedman to see what I mean! The images on his blog were created at a location workshop in London were I assisted Rick, as part of the SWPP Convention.

It is also possible to reinforce the colour of a background by lighting it with a similar coloured gel giving a richer, more saturated colour.

The set-up was simple. Mid-grey background paper lit with an Elinchrom Background Reflector, which is in effect an uplighter. The effect of the Background Reflector will change based on distance and orientation.

Gels were positioned diagonally were held in place with a wooden clothes peg (UK), clothespin (US) aka C47.

LEE Filters are available from suppliers worldwide. In the UK I use Ianiro UK who specialise in lighting and grip. They're all friendly & approachable to deal with.

Elinchrom lighting is available worldwide. In the UK contact contact either Simon Burfoot or Brian Collier at TFC in Birmingham for more information, prices and availability.

If you're serious about your photographic lighting then maybe The LIGHT Side Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thelightsidegroup/ will interest you. It's about all things to do with light and lighting. TLS is a closed group so someone will need to add you or you'll need to send a request to be added. It's a friendly group, with a degree of humour and some great photographers willing to share and contribute.