Comments on: Colourful studio portraits ~ Techniques and Pictures

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:23:10 +0000

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).

By: damien

damien — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 09:52:10 +0000

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.

By: Penny

Penny — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:15:38 +0000

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.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:27:49 +0000

Hi Damien, thanks for your reply. I’ve ordered the Charcoal paper

By: damien

damien — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:18:56 +0000

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.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:56:43 +0000

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.

By: damien

damien — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:51:31 +0000

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.

By: damien

damien — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:40:43 +0000

Cheers, Andy and Mark for your answers while I’ve been away. Damien

By: damien

damien — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:39:24 +0000

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

By: Elena

Elena — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:36:16 +0000

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!

By: Andi Goodman

Andi Goodman — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:48:26 +0000

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….

By: Mark A

Mark A — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:12:08 +0000

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

By: Robert Heard

Robert Heard — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:39:31 +0000

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

By: damien

damien — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:28:24 +0000

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.

By: Jacek

Jacek — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:28:51 +0000

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