Gel filters

They have the power to change the atmosphere of the entire photo scene: Gel filters! And yes, i had the patience today to photograph all of what i own:

The images above created using LEE gel filters and my DIY grid, made by plastic straws and cardboard. As you can see i owned only the basic gel filters from the LEE collection. But for the present, thats ok for me.


Generaly we are using gel filters for  (a) color balancing, or for  (b) fx, accent, enhancers

For example the blue filter #201 convert tungsten lighting (3200K) to daylight light (5700K). That it means, if i had an indoor photoshooting and wanted to use all of the available lighting from tungsten lamps, i could attach this filter to my flash and change the white ballance setting on my camera from flash to tungsten. In different case i would lead with a yellowish photograph, specialy where my flash could not reach eg. at the background.

Another great filter, this time as an enhancer, is the Cosmetic Highlight  #188. If you use it as your front light in portraits, it will produce a warm light that warms nicely skin tones.

As for the Durham Daylight Frost #720 you can use it outside in a sunny day with your flash setting on "fill light" to give you a "natural indoor light" look.

Some popular gel filters used for lighting backgrounds are the Congo Blue #181, Mauve #126, Primary Red #106 (strong effect!) and JAS Green #738.


A common question comming from strobo users like me is "how could i attach it on my small flash?". The answer is using velcros and in these days many sellers from ebay will send you all what you need if you buy a whole new set of gel filters. Another solution may be using rubbers but i dont recomment it as it creases the gel that you may want to keep it for a long time.

Examples of using gel filters on a black background