Weird Background Colors via Flash Color Filtering

Gary Fong demonstrates how to create spectacular special-effect colored backgrounds by simply switching colored gels in the new Lightsphere Collapsible gel holder. By custom color balancing to one of the gels, the ambient light becomes the "opposite" color (e.g. Blue Gel gives Deep Red background lighting. Putting the gel on the flash then corrects this color.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Gary
• Fong
• color
• gels
• photography
• off
• camera
• flash
• Lightsphere

[edtepas]

Taking the custom white balance through a gel as he is doing, is only usefull if the light hitting the model is 100% coming from the flashgun, which is NOT the case.

If you want to do it right, shoot in raw, just take a grey card shot with the gel mounted on the flash, correct in raw converter.

[GFIGARYFONG]

@edtepas I had the shutter speed and aperture for ambient on Manual, and for testing both were severely underexposed so that the light coming from flash would fill the gel area with just the color of the flash light. That is super important, but extremely easy to do.

[smwoodmd]

Interesting technique and I use the Lightsphere often...but what I'd like to know is the name of the resort location...beautiful setting!

[GFIGARYFONG]

@smwoodmd Hi smwoodmd, this is our horse ranch in Kelowna, BC.

[NIKONGUY1960]

This is quite fascinating. Is this something that can be done on a Nikon?

[GFIGARYFONG]

@NIKONGUY1960 it can be done on any camera that allows an off-camera flash :)

[pboshell]

Gary do a video for us beginners. I have the 7d and 5d. Your style of teaching is AMAZING

[orgazmo1009]

MAGENTA WATER! wow..you are acting like a amateur who just figured out how to shoot in RAW. Be a bit more professional Gary.

[edtepas]

@GFIGARYFONG But you can see that in the comparison between different filters as you’ve shown, that the skin colors are different in each shot, which is caused by taking a wrong custom white balance. If you’ve done it right the skin color should be practically the same. This comparison proves my point.

[TheIamfrustrated]

@Jens369 Please keep in mind that the 60D has the wireless flash control as well

[Cybercreeps]

@GFIGARYFONG Can you show us how?

[Jeffr1026]

I tried this right away. I have the light sphere collapsible, but the gels I used are from my sunpak flash unit. I also did a few shots with the flash aimed at the ceiling. It made my models look like they had a tan. The only color that does not work well is using red on red, but I use blue red, blue blue green blue. Just have fun with it. I also used a corded off camera flash. I have a canon T2i and a 580 exII flash