What is best way to fix gel filters on Strobes

[kptasteve]

What is the best way to secure the gel filters on the Strobes or Speedlites. What is a good rule of guide to determine what color filter to use.

[TomTomTuning]

David Hobby (Guy from Strobist) tapes some translucent tape on each ends of the gel to extend the size (making it longer), so he can put Velcro on each end. Then on his Speedlite he has to peaces of Velcro on the sides.

I've seen people make Gel holders but i liked the velcro setup alot more.

I havent done this yet, but i plan to.

[PhotoNewt]

Originally Posted by kptasteve

What is the best way to secure the gel filters on the Strobes or Speedlites. What is a good rule of guide to determine what color filter to use.

Second the Velcro idea.

As for the colors, there are two basic gels you may want to have, the Green and the CTO (Color Temperature Orange). Those gels come in different intesities, 1/4, 1/2, etc.

When taking pictures indoors under incadecent light and when blending with flash the CTO is the gel to use, so the color temperature of the artificial light and flash are similar. If shooting on JPEG you want to set your WB to incandecent.

When taking pictures indoors under flourecent lights and when blending with flash use the Green gel and set your WB to fluorecent. Most fluorecent light fixtures have a frequency of 60Hz, to minimize color shifts caused by an incomplete cycle try setting the shutter speed to 60.

These gels do not match the light sources perfectly but do a decent job. These filters, the CTO in particular, are also useful for other creative purposes beyond balancing light and flash.

Hope this helps.

[briandee]

just buy this.... its only 20 bucks and works awesome. i use it all the time. infact i have 2.


http://www.lumiquest.com/products/fxtra.htm

[sybren]

It'd like to add the CTB (Colour Temperature Blue) range to the "must have" gels.

You can get gels from http://www.photogels.com/, including velcro "dots" to attach them to your strobes. They are cheap, and offer great service.

WARNING your strobe head may get very hot for short periods of time, so be sure to always leave some room between the gel and the strobe. I melted holes in a few gels with my Speedlite 580EX II...

[Trevor.Dennis]

The melted gel issue is something I have been thinking about after ordering an Orbis ring-flash. It fits over the flash head, and there is no opertunity for heat to escape, but it would be nice to be able to warm the light on occassions.

[atherton]

Where do you think I could find a good source for diy gels? Craft stores?

[sybren]

Originally Posted by atherton

Where do you think I could find a good source for diy gels? Craft stores?

Probably, yes. If you want to have calibrated CTO and CTB gels, I recommend photogels.com.

[wannabehorsephotographer]

You can get sample packs or gels that fit perfectly over your speedlite. I got a sample pack free with a lighting order. I haven't played with gels yet (got them in August), but they look really cool- I am the woosiest lighting guru/photographer ever