Using Coloured Gels in Photography

After my test shoot it was very clear that I needed to do more research into using colours gels to find out how to achieve the look; however I also needed to work out what look I wanted to create and what colours to use. I found the video below explaining how you could use coloured gels in the background without the light on the model disturbing it. He emphasised the importance of not letting the light on the model spill onto the back drop because it will be obvious and change how the background looks. Even though I found this video interesting because I learned that fact, I didn't like the outcomes he created because the lighting on the model was very flat. 

ICATCHINGVIDEOS, 2009. Photography Lighting Tutorial - Using Gels in Studio Lighting from Light Tech [viewed 15th March 2016]. 
Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_0hN32qyR0

I wanted to see how people set up their studios to achieve a coloured background and I found this example below. The background is predominantly blue, with a fuchsia colour coming in from the bottom. The blue light has been directed towards a white reflector which is bouncing the blue colour back onto the back drop to defuse the colour all over. The fuchsia light has been positioned behind the model and is facing straight onto the back drop. There is a soft box with no gel in front and slightly to the left of the model as a main light. A reflector has been placed under her chin to soften the shadows and another white reflector has been placed on the opposite side of the main light to act as a fill light. I really like how vibrant the colours are on the back drop and I want to try and achieve a similar effect, but with just one colour, most probably in blue. 

BARJOU, F., 2015. 8 Awesome Lighting Setups Using Gels For Creativity [viewed 15th March 2016]. 
Available from: http://www.diyphotography.net/8-awesome-lighting-setups-using-gels-for-creativity/

The image below was achieved with two coloured gel and one clear main light. The fuchsia coloured gel has been positioned behind the model, to the left and is pointing straight at him. This causes the light to shine all down his left side  and chest but not spill over any other parts of his body or face. The blue gel is positioned further away from him than the fuchsia, further back, but it is still pointing at him. The blue light mostly hits him from the back but you can see where it has hit his neck and jaw line. A main light has been used in the form of a beauty dish to create a harsh light on his fast with no colour; this helps to brighten the image and show the true colours in the image. A silver reflector has been used on the left side of his face to brighten that side of his face. No lights have been used to light up the background so the background looks very dark. I like this lighting setup; however I think the blue and fuchsia are too strong so they don't blend very well with the rest of the face. 

MCKIM, J., 2013. Shooting With Colour Gels [viewed 15th March 2016]. 
Available from: https://fstoppers.com/studio/shooting-color-gels-2723

Inspiration Images:

HAMILTON, S., 2013. Luxx // inc. [viewed 15th March 2015]. 
Available from: http://www.squizhamilton.com/photography.php

I love how warm the image looks with the burgundy and blue combination. It looks like there is a blue light coming from the right side of the model, a light in front of the model, slightly to the left, with no coloured gel on and then a strong burgundy light coming from the left side of the model, slightly behind. I like that there is a small colour scheme in this image because it looks very clean and  and simple, without lots of fussy colours. I have kept my colour scheme small for this reason; however I am using more bright colours than this. I really like how the blue and red have been used because they are contrasting colours to make a dramatic effect. I don't think I will make the colours as strong as in this image because I think it looks too over done and tacky. In my shoot I may experiment with using these colours and having a clear light on the model, but I will make them a lot less harsh to give a more subtle, flattering look.

HICKS, J., 2016. The Midnight Venus [viewed 15th March 2016]. 
Available from: http://jakehicksphotography.com/#/the-midnight-venus/

I was really excited when I found the image above, by Jake Hicks, because the glare from the light in the background almost looks like the glare from the sun. My shoot is going to have a summer/poolside theme so the warm, orange glare would work perfectly for giving that bright and sunny look. I was concerned about using a blue background and then a blue gel light on the model because I was worried she would fade into the background; however this has inspired me to try different background colours to represent the warm sun, instead of thinking of blue to represent the pool water or sky. I think this effect would have been created by the light facing the camera slightly and being positioned behind the model to one side. I also think that an orange gels would have been put over the lights to cover the back drop because the background looks the same tone as the orange glare. It doesn't look like there is a clear main light in this image because any areas of her body that aren't blue, look like they're in shadow. I like how it turned out because the majority of her face and body are lit up with the blue and the background is so bright, keeping the image from looking too dark. The blue light looks like it is coming from above her, to the right so catch her face as she leans it back. The light looks like it is very slightly positioned in front of her because her hands are not blocking the light from hitting her face.

HICKS, J., 2016. Mello Yello [viewed 15th March 2016]. 
Available from: http://jakehicksphotography.com/#/mello-yello/

I am obsessed with this whole image! I really like how glowy and shiny the skin is because it gives a sexy, steamy look. I think this very wet looking skin would also work for my shoot because it would almost look like she was still wet from being in the pool. This has inspired me to use baby oil to give my model the same glossy finish. This glossy finish would also work for my advert because Mac's models always look very doll-like and perfect so this glossy finish could be interpreted as the plastic finish of a doll. Dewy skin is a definite 2016 spring/summer trend so this is yet another reason why this glossy finish would work so well. It looks like a yellow background could have been used and then the blue could have been edited into the image in postproduction because I don't think you would be able to get that round effect with lighting. It looks like they used a green gel to the right and left of the model because there is a green tint on both sides of the legs, but not in the middle. There are hints of red on the high points of the model so I think there was a red light used above her. The light on the model's face doesn't look red so a clear light might have been used to gently light up her face. This is probably my favourite colour combination because the model looks like she is being lit up by the yellow sun and the background could represent the blue sky to the clean pool water. I am really excited to get back in the studio and have play around with the coloured gels!

Resources:

BARJOU, F., 2015. 8 Awesome Lighting Setups Using Gels For Creativity [viewed 15th March 2016]. Available from: http://www.diyphotography.net/8-awesome-lighting-setups-using-gels-for-creativity/

ICATCHINGVIDEOS, 2009. Photography Lighting Tutorial - Using Gels in Studio Lighting from Light Tech [viewed 15th March 2016]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_0hN32qyR0

MCKIM, J., 2013. Shooting With Colour Gels [viewed 15th March 2016]. Available from: https://fstoppers.com/studio/shooting-color-gels-2723