Flash 5 (color change)

Hello,

Today I am going to write about changing the color of flashes.

There are a few ways to do it.

The WB can be changed with a global image change. Daylight will keep it about the same, Cloudy and Shade will make it a more yellow/orange. Fluorescent will make it Purplish and Tungsten will make it Blue.

Another option is to change the color of the light coming from the flash by bouncing it off of something or by putting a filter over the flash. This is what I want to write about.

The short is paper or gels can change the color of the flash in select areas.

White lilies on a blue background, colors have been changed by 2 flashes with blue and red paper over them.

The above image is an example of changing the colors how (more or less) I wanted. The flash with the blue is on the ground pointing up towards the center of the forward facing flower. The red covered flash is being held and is facing down towards the center of the top flower. Below is a similar set up with yellow instead of blue and a picture with the supplies used.

The light from the flash with a yellow Post It was a wide flash and impacted all of the rest of the image. The blue of the background mixed with the yellow of the light and appears green. I used multiple pink Post It notes to get a red color which appears more orange because red and yellow make orange.

Clear gels can be found at stores, I have found construction paper and Post It notes do the job.

I originally figured this out years ago on a bored night off. I put a pink and a blue Post It over 2 flashes and again with lilies that I bought for my Wife.

Notice that there is some overlap that leads to a purple on the petals.

Go out and experiment.

~Scott

Fireworks

I hope everyone that celebrates it had a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Hanukkah, Kwanza, Solstice, Yule, Bohdi Day, Pancha Ganapati, or any of the many other holidays celebrated in the Decemberish time. If I missed yours it is nothing personal.

So on to the topic, fireworks and how to capture them. As usual I recommend a tripod and a remote. It can be done without either it is more hit and miss. I will get an idea of where the fireworks will be exploding and if possible set up before nightfall. This is easier to do during the 4th of July than New Year’s Eve. This helps with setting up background and foreground if desired. Generally the fireworks are far enough away that focusing on infinity works well enough, if you aren’t a fan of that then focus on a building nearby the launch site then lock your focus. For aperture I use f8-f11 to keep the focus area large and a low ISO to keep the noise down. Here is where the tough decisions come in. If it is windy then a faster shutter speed will keep the definition of the fireworks better. Notice below the firework trails are being blown to the left and gravity is having it’s hand at pulling them down too.

iso 100 f6.3 11 seconds. I had a larger aperture to get more of the foreground lit.

Now I use a bulb setting so that I can control the shutter better. Sometimes I want a single firework other times I want multiple and often I am deciding while the shutter is open. If a set shutter speed is used the only way to control it would be to put a black card/think paper of the lens during the exposure. The few times that I used that technique I didn’t really enjoy it and took away from enjoying the show. It is an option though.

Another decision that needs to be made is whether a foreground interest will be in place. If so a way to do it is with two separate exposures. One of a properly exposed foreground then one of the fireworks. I recommend taking them around the same time so the blending process is easier. Using a rear curtain flash is also an option depending on how far the subject is.

iso 100 4 secs at f14

Above notice that the lines are more defined, it was at least partially because of the faster shutter speed. I can’t recall if or how fast the wind was that night so that is out of the equation.

If you have the means a reflection adds more interest to the image,

Above I took caught a picture with my Father in law and my nephew watching the fireworks. The first one is the composite, the second is the original, and the third is the orange firework. The same idea can be used with different foreground.

Lighting pictures are not hard once you know how to do them. Reading about it is one thing doing it is completely different. So with the New Year coming in there are usually some fireworks which is a good chance to try this technique out. Have a Happy New Year everyone. I would love to hear some comments or questions.