Colourful studio portraits ~ Techniques and Pictures
December 31st, 2009
Here is my technique for creating striking studio portraits using a grey background and the Lovegrove Studio Collection of gels. Grid collections like the one above make fantastic large acrylic products or canvas prints for the home. They are easy to shoot, command high prices, and they look great in a studio shop window too. Here’s how I shot the one above.
Here is my 4 light studio set up for the grid of colour shots above with the background light set to quarter power.
Now here is the same set up with the colour gel fitted to the background light, still on quarter power.
The Paint on the back wall of my studio is Dulux Ice Storm 2. It is as near a neutral as you can get with pigment and comes from their professional range. You will need to get it mixed for you. The computers at Dulux paint mixing centres have the recipe built in. The top light is a Bowens 1200ws head in a Wafer 140 soft box. The head is set to quarter power. The reflector is my original triflector bought in 1994. It was designed by the legend Stu Williamson. The background light is a Bowens 750ws head fitted with a Maxilight reflector. The two backlights on Henri, my model are Bowens 750ws heads with beauty dishes fitted with grids to avoid flare.
The gels were all photographed illuminating the grey background whilst Henri posed in the foreground to give a true skin tone reference. The gels were simply clipped to the flash head reflector with a single small crock clip (These will be available from the consulting site by mid January) and the power of the flash head was adjusted to reveal a range of luminance values with each colour.
The shot on the left is with no gel on the background light and the flash head set at half power. The shot on the right is with the background flash head off completely. I use a grey wall because it will go pure black when unlit with just 3 stops less light than my subject. There is always some spill light in a studio, especially one as small as mine and white backgrounds usually turn a muddy grey when unlit. The shade of grey should be chosen so that you can recreate the two shots above just by adjusting the power of your background lights. This will give you full control over the luminance of the background colour.
I have now put together the definitive collection of gels from literally hundreds of candidates. As part of the product preparation for the Lovegrove Studio Collection I shot every shortlisted gel to see how it looked in camera. Each one has been chosen because of the mood or character it evokes in a digital image. The way a gel photographs is often very different to it’s visual appearance so all the assessing was done using digital files straight from camera. It’s easy to see colours that work when you are looking at real photographs rather than gel swatches.
With such vibrant colours to hand, it is vital to be in tune with subtle shade and hue changes. A small hue shift can have an enormous effect on the mood a picture evokes and putting together a great collection of gels has been like creating a paint collection for houses.
I’ve put in a bit of hard work over the past two months to put this collection together so that hopefully you can enjoy creating beautifully lit masterpieces to transform your clients homes. If you shoot hair shots for stylists, accessories for fashion designers, make over portraits or magazine covers then these gels are for you. If you don’t shoot any of the above but you want to have a bit of fun then these are for you too because for less than the cost of just one roll of background paper you could be the master of colour wherever you shoot. Each gel is 12″x 12″ (305mm x 305mm).
The full set comprises 38 gels and will hopefully be available by the SWPP convention on the 15th of January. Each gel can also be cut into 12 Honl sized (4″ x 3″) smaller gels if you want to add some colour to your Speedlight work. The complete set of gels is expected to cost £45 – £50.
For wider shots, larger studios, or to create gradient backgrounds, it is advisable to use two or more background lights and gel sets.
See the full portrait colour swatch of gels here showing the effect of various power levels of light shone through each one. Then let me know your favourites using the comments box at the foot of that post.
If you found this helpful, you may also like to read Studio portrait lighting with minimal kit ~ feature article and Studio Lighting Pictures and Techniques
53 Comments Add your own
1. richie | December 31st, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Love it! This is New & Very Refreshing…
2. Iain King | December 31st, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Thanks again for giving away your techniques Damien. I really like this concept and it’s something that i can see being very popular. Something to work on over the next few weeks.
Hope you and your family have a fantastic New Year.
Iain
3. Sean Gannon | December 31st, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Damien,
This is a great set up. I use it a lot in the studio. It works well for couples, kids and even for corporate shots with more muted background colours. Its very fresh and client buy lots of them.
Sean
4. Alan Reid | December 31st, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Hi Damien, What make are your beauty dishes fitted with grids? I have been searching for large grids, the biggest Bowens do is 7″. I can’t find any in the Bowens range to fit their beauty dish.
Alan
5. damien | December 31st, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Hi Alan, I got mine on Ebay. Take a look at this Ebay item: 360213363704 and wait for a UK one to come up if you want.
6. damien | December 31st, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Hi Richie, Iain and Sean,
Thanks for the compliments. Cheers, Damien
7. Robert Brook | January 1st, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I’ve been looking for a suitable gray paint for the wall behind my monitor to help with colour comparisons this Dulux Ice Storm 2 paint looks ideal for that purpose as well as my studio walls. What colour did you paint the studio ceiling Damien?
kind regards
Rob
8. Alan Reid | January 1st, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Thanks Damien, thats just what I want. Happy New Year!
9. david ruddle | January 1st, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Hi Damien
A timely post as I’m moving in to a new studio on Monday and will be decorating it in grey. I have used Little green Paint Company’s paints before with success but it was quite pricey. I’ve tried looking up Ice Storm on Dulux’s site but there doesn’t seem to be any mention of it. Was it difficult to obtain? I realise in needs mixing in store but would have thought there would be some mention of the range on their site. Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong place!
David
10. Dalby | January 1st, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Fantastic! I just tried recreating this with a gray wall, 2 speedlites on stands and some quality st wrappers as gels! Worked brilliantly.
Here is my image:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/4020/oliredsmall.jpg
Thankyou!
11. damien | January 1st, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Hi Robert, I can’t remember the name of the ceiling paint but I know it isn’t white. White is the worst possible colour in a studio.
Damien.
12. damien | January 1st, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Hi David, just go to a Dulux paint mixing place and ask for Ice Storm 2. Forget trying to look it up. It’s as good as a secret. Cheers, Damien.
13. Ken McBride | January 1st, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Hi Damien
What Colorama grey colour would you recommend to replicate your Ice Storm 2 colour. Cheers and Happy New Year.
14. damien | January 3rd, 2010 at 1:39 am
Hi Ken,
Charcoal is the closest match. Mineral Grey might be better for you depending upon the size of your studio. The bigger the studio the lighter the background can be. Because you can move your model and subject lights further from the background and hence reduce spill.
Happy New Year,
Damien
15. Mark A | January 3rd, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Hi Damien.
Are those hair lights on a “hi-glide” system or just boom arms?
16. Mark A | January 3rd, 2010 at 6:29 pm
sorry forgot to enable email followup
17. damien | January 4th, 2010 at 1:00 am
Hi Mark, Yes, I have 6 lights on Hi-Glide so I can shoot all my walls in one session without lots of rigging. I bought the Hi-Glide on Ebay for £250 from an art college that was closing down. I hope you and Kirsty have a great New Year. Damien.
18. Mark A | January 4th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Thanks Damien – yes I am looking forward to 2010 – although we had our best year yet in 2009 – so its hard work to ensure another one follows!
19. Jay D | January 6th, 2010 at 12:07 am
Hi……New too you’r website and blog,fantastic reading. I love the gels you use to create these lovely coloured backgrounds. I am fairly new too photography but i do have one speed light at the moment. What kind of light can i use for the background light to use the gels when they come on sell. I have bin looking at the The Arri 300W Junior Fresnel lamp, Is this like the sort of light i need?
Glad i found this site,I have learnt things from just browsing around.
Jay
20. damien | January 9th, 2010 at 12:55 am
Hi Jay,
The Arri is not the right tool for you. I’d invest in another flash unit. A Speedlight that you can use with a Ezy-Box as a keylight. You can use both Speedlights off camera and take them on location too. One Speedlight can be fitted with a gel while the other is used in a softbox or with a ringflash adapter. The Arri is a tungsten balenced light and not easy to mix with flash from a Speedlight. Damien.
21. John Doran | January 11th, 2010 at 1:33 am
Damien,
I am an avid fan of your work and have learned so much. I wish to thank you for your input on Prophotonut, also I have found your DVDs highly valuable in theead up to where I am now as a photographer.
Thank you.
22. damien | January 11th, 2010 at 1:42 am
Thanks John, Have a great 2010. Damien.
23. Tim Hind | January 14th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
I’m new to this site, but will be a regular visitor from now on. very informative. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Love your work.
24. John | January 17th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Really great set of photos and makes a cracking wall display.
I am new to this site and find your work very inspiring and will be following all you do.
Thanks for sharing
25. Karl B | January 18th, 2010 at 10:50 am
damien, it makes me chuckle when i hear even the best of the best shop on Ebay, what a bargain…
see you soon
26. damien | January 19th, 2010 at 12:26 am
Thanks Tim, I’ll try and keep up the good work. There is plenty in the archives so do dig deep. Damien
27. damien | January 19th, 2010 at 12:29 am
Cheers, John. I’ve loads of new ideas to share with you guys this year. Apart from the blog, I write a column in Photo Pro magazine each month. Cheers, Damien.
28. damien | January 19th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Hi Karl, I’m an Ebay addict. I use Auction Sniper too. See you soon, Damien.
29. Julian | January 20th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Damien, hello,
I just love reading your blog, there’s always something new and very interesting.
I tried this with my Interfit 150 head, and it went out awful, since I see different shaded of color through the gel I have.
It’s like an orange circle which I suppose a reflector, and around it I see red.
Is it happening because the flash is not too strong or is it the gel? Or may be a reflector.
Also, it covers smaller part of the walls then you have. I am planning to buy your gels set, but the question is whether I need to change my hardware.
Thank you so much,
Julian
30. damien | January 21st, 2010 at 12:11 am
Hi Julian,
Thanks for your kind words. Your interfit 150 is probably creating a ‘hot spot’ and this can demonstrate itself in one of the colour sensors in the camera clipping. Clipping in the red channel looks like a orange/ yellow hue shift rather than just a luminance rise.
Hardware is a likely cause of your woes. Try moving the 150 another 2m from the background and leave the exposure set the same. If the result is a clean colour of mid tone density fading rapidly towards black at the corners then the reflector is not wide enough and the original shot was over exposed.
Once you have the kit to create a clean colour background then you will be able to make the most of our gels. A Speedlight with the wide diffuser flipped out gives an even enough light source so with the right reflector the interfit should be up for the job.
Damien.
31. Andi Goodman | January 21st, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Hi: love these gels…just out of curiosity, is the soft box above the tri flector or above the model…
also have you ever had an issue with cerise type colours looking red on the camera lcd (5d) (and in lightroom until rendered)…makes it very tricky to guess the outcome
any way here’s my first effort with these gels…doing my head in a bit trying to remember which one is which once they’re in camera
http://www.andigoodman.co.uk/montage_small.jpg
32. martin | January 23rd, 2010 at 9:26 am
Julian – its most likely that the reflector you are using has an insufficiently wide beam angle. Don’t know about the Interfit, but on my Elinchroms and at reasonable distance the background light needs a 90 degree (16cm) reflector. The ’standard’ 50 and 60 degree reflectors give the hotspots you describe.
Martin
33. damien | January 23rd, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Hi Andi,
The softbox is above the triflector and infront of the model.
Damien.
34. damien | January 23rd, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Martin is spot on. You need a wide angle reflector or a dedicated background lighting reflector. I use a Maxi lite reflector on my Bowens kit.
35. Andi Goodman | January 23rd, 2010 at 5:23 pm
thanks damien…am loving the results with these…the link in previous post above has my fav 8 colours
36. Ivan | January 26th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
damien.
Brought my gels at the SWPP and spent the wek painting a wall in the studio, ready for the weekend. Really pleased with the results. Thanks for the advice at the convention and love the gels
37. Ivan | January 30th, 2010 at 8:04 am
Damien.
What would your recommend for the best covering on a floor when taking these kind of images.Like when you have a subject sitting on the floor, to continue the colour as your images show. Many thanks
38. damien | February 7th, 2010 at 12:26 am
Hi Ivan,
Sorry for my delay in replying. I missed your comments somehow. I use grey paper background rolls when I need seamless backgrounds. If I need a colour to continue past my subject to the foreground then I have to use coloured gel or use the theatre trick of using a colour wash from the back and a follow spot from the front. The pool of white light just seems right.
Cheers, Damien.
39. Jacek | February 7th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Hi Damian,
Good work, your concept is great. I painted wall ( dulux ice storm 2 ) now i’m lookin for wide angle reflector, my regular 18cm is too spot.
What do you think about Lee Filters – Saturates Pack seria Colour Magic ?
Thanks, Jacek
40. damien | February 11th, 2010 at 12:28 am
Hi Jacek,
Thanks for your kind words.
I’ve never heard of seria Colour Magic. Lee Saturates pack is just that. Very saturated bold colour – not subtle, perfect for stage performances, lighting a band etc with Par cans. I’ve used a few of the colours before, but as you can see I’ve chosen a completely different set of colours for my collection designed specifically for photographic portraiture. My gels are all made by Lee too;)
If you use a medium wide reflector you can expect some vignetting. I like the look – See my latest post. Another way is to light the background from both sides. Far more even but needs two lights and two sets of gels.
Regards, Damien.
41. Robert Heard | February 13th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Hi Damien,
I love these vibrant gel portraits. I have a white paper background and am struggling to get any noticeable change in colour when shooting with gels. Have you got any advice please?
Thanks Rob
42. Mark A | February 14th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Hey Rob
You need to use coloured gels on a dark background for them to work. Dark grey is the best but black also works…
Mark
43. Andi Goodman | February 14th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Hi Rob: Mark is right grey is ideal. When i used a white background I had to turn the backlight right down to prevent the head completely blowing out the colour and was very careful not to get other lights spilling over on to the background…
even then you’ll probably find them washed out….
44. Elena | February 18th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
This looks great! What a wonderful variety of possibilities! I shoot mainly kids and love the colour, but I don’t have a studio so I would like to know if you think that the gels will work with a mobile grey textile background, too? I could set that up quickly…
Thanks, great website! And let me know if you are coming to Italy in 2010 as I would love to attend one of your workshops!
45. damien | February 25th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Hi Robert, As Andy said, grey is better than white. However you can usually get some great pastel looks with a white background. Just remember to keep your subject lights off the background. Damien
46. damien | February 25th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Cheers, Andy and Mark for your answers while I’ve been away. Damien
47. damien | February 25th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
Hi Elena, Thanks. Italy was 2009 and it’s Holland’s turn this spring. Yes the gels will work well with a grey textile background on location. Cheers, Damien.
48. Brian | February 26th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Hello, I’ve just ordered a set of gels
As for the grey background, I mostly shoot on location therefore I don’t think I ought to turn up at someones house with a tin of Dulux Ice Storm paint!! I read a previous answer to a question on here which said the nearest paper roll would be Charcoal. I was just wondering if the colorama smoke grey would be ok as they do that colour in a 3/4 roll, which would be about the right size for portability, compared to a full length which would be too big and a 1.35m length which might be too small.
49. damien | February 27th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Hi Brian,
As I say, the shade of grey is dependent upon the size and type of space you are shooting in. A white walled room will need a darker grey to reap the maximum benefit. With the background light switched off the background should look black and with the background light on full power without a gel it should be pure white. I hope this helps. We use Calumet Smoke and Calumet Storm depending upon shooting location. You can cut a paper roll down to size with a wood saw
Damien.
50. Brian | February 27th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Hi Damien, thanks for your reply. I’ve ordered the Charcoal paper
51. Penny | March 16th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Hi Damien,
Do you have any suggestions on using your Gel’s with a lastolite hi-lite background? I primarily shoot kids so would ideally like the floor to be lit as well, not sure if that is possible. The background I have is white but I also have a black material cover.
Thanks.
52. damien | March 21st, 2010 at 9:52 am
Hi Penny,
Gels and the Hi-Lite are not an easy option because any light you put on the front of the unit including spill from your keylight will washout the colour effect. Normally with the Hi-Lite any spill just adds to the white and is fine.
Regards, Damien.
53. Chris | June 16th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
hi damien, this is a great idea. if i cannot find the dulux ice storm 2, can i get the paint shop to colour match a grey card? will that work? my choices of paint are behr or benjamin moore (canada).
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