Photo Friday: Gels and Grunge

Any time I've purchased a flash, it's come with coloured pieces of plastic that clip over the head of the flash. In all the years that I've owned these flashes, I've never once used them.

These pieces of plastic are known in photography as gels, and they are used to apply that colour to the overall look of the photo. If you attach a red gel to your flash, your subject will appear red.

I've seen countless photos in which gels have been used, and if they are used correctly, they can create some wonderful, artsy imagery. I've wanted to try this type of photography but have never given it enough thought to come up with something on my own.

Earlier this week (just before I got nailed with a bug that kept me down for a couple of days), I had an opportunity to join my Ottawa Photography Meetup group for a model shoot with gels.

It was an interesting meetup and I learned some new techniques. We photographed our model, Roxanne, in front of a white backdrop, upon which we shone a yellow gel and a blue gel, which gave the background that colour. On Roxanne, herself, we shone red, blue, and orange gels, to create incredible effects.

We also used a black backdrop and focused the different colours on our model, for a dramatic lighting effect.

In post production, I ran a few of my photos through Snapseed, applying a 'grunge' filter effect (and perhaps overdoing it a bit on the third shot). These are the photos I've decided to share for Photo Friday.

You can see more of my photos on 500px, but keep in mind that these photos are not safe for viewing at work. Some of the safer photos can be found on my Instagram page.

I might just dig out those coloured plastic covers for my flashes and try more of these on my own. Stay tuned.

Happy Friday!