How do you gel/mod your flash?

[jms698]

Hello,
I'm wonder which kinds of light modifiers (if any) people use on their hot-shoe mounted flashes:

Do you attach gels to modify the color? If so, which make of gel and gel holder do you use?

Do you use any kind of flash diffuser box? If so, which kind?

Do you use anything else to mod your flash?

[BBear]

for modifiers I have umbrellas (33" and 45") and snoots (cardboard made, cheap but not good for control adjustments).


for the color gels, I have the vivitar color kit, which has all the basic colors and fit right in the flash slot. really nice.



now for color temperature, I have the Rosco Gels cut to fit my vivitar flashhead... and they dont look nice as the vivitar original color filters, but they do the work!

[alohadave]

I put velcro strips around the end of my flash head for a DIY diffuser that I made.

My flashes have a built in slot so I can slide the Rosco sample gels right in.

[jms698]

Originally Posted by BBear

for the color gels, I have the vivitar color kit, which has all the basic colors and fit right in the flash slot. really nice.

now for color temperature, I have the Rosco Gels cut to fit my vivitar flashhead... and they dont look nice as the vivitar original color filters, but they do the work!

Please excuse my ignorance. I'm very new to flash photography (I just ordered a Pentax AF-360 and am wondering what kind of accessories to get).

What is the difference between a color gel in the flash slot and a color temperature gel to cover the flash head? I can understand the latter is to modify the color temperature of the light coming from the flash, but what does the former do?

As for diffusers: are they really necessary? Do you only need a diffuser if you are taking a picture with a wider lens than the flash range covers, or do diffusers have other uses?

[BBear]

Originally Posted by jms698

What is the difference between a color gel in the flash slot and a color temperature gel to cover the flash head? I can understand the latter is to modify the color temperature of the light coming from the flash, but what does the former do?

As for diffusers: are they really necessary? Do you only need a diffuser if you are taking a picture with a wider lens than the flash range covers, or do diffusers have other uses?

Sorry for the confusion: they both go in the Vivitar slot. In your case, they'd also go in front of the beam.


the difference is very subtle: I use color gels ONLY for color effects (though they could possibly also change the temperature) like changing backgrounds colors.


Now the temperature filters, are for when you KNOW you need to adjust for temperature, in this case you need specific filters for the occasion. usually they are used for the main subject.

They are the SAME visually, and are mounted the same way.


Regarding the wide diffuser, best thing for you to do: experiment with your 360.

[alohadave]

Originally Posted by jms698

As for diffusers: are they really necessary? Do you only need a diffuser if you are taking a picture with a wider lens than the flash range covers, or do diffusers have other uses?

It depends on what you are trying to do. I use mine to soften the light just a bit when I'm using the flash on-camera. When I'm shooting an event (like a reception or wedding), having the diffuser spreads the light out a bit so it isn't quite as harsh.

The theory is that the larger your light source appears to be, the softer the light will be on your subject. This is why large softboxes and umbrellas can make things look good, because they are spreading the light all around. My little diffuser does the same thing, just on a much smaller scale.

It all depends on the effect you are going for.

Since you are are new to flashes, check out Strobist Read through the Lighting 101 and 102 articles. It's geared toward off-camera flash, but the principles are the same for on-camera flash.

[flyer]

I use whatever gives me the result I'm looking for. I tape all kind of colored plastic in front of the flash to alter it's color if I need to with no problem at all. You can actually put a colored plastic in front of the lens on your camera and point it toward a light source to set a "very custom" white balance, then put the same "filter" in front of the flash. Your main subject will look more or less color balanced while everything else will take another shade due to that previous white balance. Just don't forget to reset your white balance after you're done with it, otherwise you'll spend some time in Photoshop to correct everything. As for diffuser, same thing goes for me. I use whatever does the job.

[VF-19]

I use the better bounce card. Only I used sheet styrene instead of paper. Much more durable. Next time though, I'm going to give the sheet a quick swipe with some fine sandpaper to dull out the plastic shine.

For a cheap thing, it works brilliantly.

[Venturi]

Gels are just pretty darn cool. I've only recently begun really playing around with them, but you can do a whole heck of a lot more than merely color correct for tungsten or fluorescent ambient lighting.

The other night I was feeling the itch to mess around strobist style and setup and umbrella and grabbed my gels that have been mostly sitting unused in my lighting bag. Towards the end of my session of too many bad self-portraits I decided to have a little fun and see what I could accomplish. I put a Storaro Red on the umbrella strobe at camera right and set up another flash behind me on the floor pointed back at the grey backdrop with a full cut of Color Temp Blue. I also put a gobo on the flash so none of the blue would wash onto my back.

This is the untouched result other than cropped and EV boosted by 1/3rd stop in LightZone and then resized for posting.

And yes, I need a better looking model...

[Matjazz]

When using flash indoors I regularly use filter cut out of orange CD box plastic. I stick it with a scotch tape. Usually it stays on more than off.