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Gelling your flash

When photographing in an Incandescent environment indoors, it makes sense to gel your flash to make your flash blend in better with the existing light.

You can buy gels through these affiliate links:

  • Rosco Cinegel 1/2 CTS #3442
  • Rosco Cinegel full CTS #3441
  • Rosco Cinegel Roscosun 1/2 CTO
  • Rosco Cinegel Roscosun full CTO

 

Related articles on gelling flash

  • Shooting in low light – flash and incandescent light
  • Flash and tungsten lighting
  • Wedding photography – dealing with the videographer’s light
  • Gelling your flash for effect – blue background  (model: Anelisa)
  • How to use flash at sunset, (balancing flash w/ warm ambient light)

 

61 Comments, Add Your Own

  1. 1Hoddo says

    October 10, 2009 at 5:47 am

    Hi Neil

    Just wondering, when using these gels are you adjusting your camera wb to tungsten?

    Thanks
    Hoddo

    Reply
  2. 2Neil vN says

    October 12, 2009 at 4:33 am

    You generally keep your camera set to the white balance of whatever is your dominant light source. But then .. you do shoot in RAW and that gives you a lot of flexibility in post-processing and adjusting your WB.

    Reply
  3. 3Daniel says

    October 16, 2009 at 5:39 am

    Hi Neil,
    I’ve heard some serious complaints about SB-900 heat up shut down issues.
    Do you recommend SB-900 over SB-800? Is the difference worth the extra money?

    Thanks,
    Daniel

    Reply
  4. 4Neil says

    October 18, 2009 at 12:42 am

    Daniel, I’d say the Nikon SB-900 is a definite upgrade over the SB-800. Here’s my initial review of the Nikon SB-900. And here are my comments on the thermal protection of the Nikon SB-900 speedlight. (It’s largely a non-issue.)

    Neil vN

    Reply
  5. 5Eleazar says

    November 12, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    Neil,

    When taking outdoor portraits with the sun rising or setting, what filter sheet should I use? Do I set my WB to Sun/Shade? The sun’s temperature seems more golden and closer to Tungsten.

    Thanks,

    Eleazar

    Reply
  6. 6Neil says

    November 17, 2009 at 5:43 am

    Eleazar, here is an image I’ve used elsewhere on this site, and is an example of where I used a 1/2 CTS gel over my flash to warm the light from the flash a touch. This helps in balancing it with the warm light in the late afternoon.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  7. 7Neil vN says

    November 17, 2009 at 6:41 am

    Reply
  8. 8Rory says

    November 23, 2009 at 10:13 pm

    Neil,
    I’m really enjoying your website. Thank you for the invaluable resource. I just bought the SB-900. I had been looking for a used SB-800 on Craigslist for quite a while and wasn’t having much luck. My wife suggested I just go and buy the SB-900, as it will outlast the camera and I’ll have it forever. Good to see you like the 900.

    I have an D90. I was going to buy an SB-600 but a number of people warned me away from it as they felt that the power of the 800/900 when used with a diffuser and bounced is a better choice in the long run. So, hoping it’s not overkill, I bought the SB-900.

    Here’s my question: why bother with gels any longer? I have been shooting in RAW and using the in camera NEF processing to quickly adjust the picture control, white balance, exposure and then I trim. (For pics I really like I use Lightroom. And for most, I just keep the initial jpeg file.) When adjusting the white balance in camera with the RAW file, I find that it mimics the use of gels. Is this a correct assumption? I know that picture controls can affect the histogram, so I sometimes use a completely neutral picture control I’ve loaded and UniWB. This seems to be even a better choice when adjusting WB in camera after the shot. So, is my rationale correct and gels now have limited value if you adjust WB in post?

    Thanks,
    Rory

    Reply
  9. 9Neil says

    November 26, 2009 at 5:48 am

    Rory, the idea behind using gels is to help balance the colour of your flash with that of the existing light. When there is a huge jump in the colour balance / white balance, it can lead to an ugly effect. This is usually difficult or impossible to fix in Photoshop. Yet it is easy to deal with at the time you take a photo, by gelling your flash.

    Here’s more on the topic – gelling your flash for Tungsten.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  10. 10Horst Fuchs says

    November 27, 2009 at 9:04 am

    Hi Neil

    Just bought your book about On Camera Flash Techniques. Brilliant information for little money. I’m going to shoot my first wedding next week and there was plenty of useful information on it.

    Another thing. I have a Rosco Supergel Sampler here with me, but there is no information to be found which of the orange and yellow gels is equal to the Cinegels you are mentioning above. Do you know which one of these Supergels (#14 medium straw, #313 Light relief yellow, #13 Straw Tint, #312 Canary, #11 light straw,…) is equal to the 1/2 CTS? Should I just try to get a white paper to look white while setting to Tungsten WB and using any of these gels?

    Thanks already in advance for the information.
    BR
    -Horst (from Germany)

    Reply
  11. 11Neil vN says

    December 7, 2009 at 5:49 am

    Horst, I don’t know which would be a direct equivalent, but from what you mention there, the #11 (light straw), might be a good start. Are there no specs on these gels that will tell you what they correct the flash’s colour balance to?

    Reply
  12. 12Gennadi says

    December 16, 2009 at 1:18 am

    Hi Neil,

    Unbelievable site. So much information. Thank you.
    I hated flash until somebody asked me to shoot Sweet 16.
    Lightning was terrible. I had only Nikon D700 with built-in flash. It was a disaster.
    Anyway, I ordered your book and SB-900 to learn how to shoot with a flash.
    Neil, I need your professional opinion and advice.
    What is your choice? Battery Pack Nikon SD-9 or Quantum Turbo SC?
    Do I need CCKE cable or CKE with Turbo SC?

    Thank you,

    Gennadi

    Reply
  13. 13Neil says

    December 16, 2009 at 1:31 am

    Gennadie .. my first recommendation would be the Nikon SD-9 pack. In the same way I’d recommend the CP-E4 to Canon shooters. It is a less expensive option than the Turbo SC, and recycles only slightly slower than the SC.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  14. 14David C says

    February 18, 2010 at 10:31 pm

    Hi Neil,

    I live in Singapore and unfortunately, I am not able to get hold of the Rosco CTS gels. There are other flash gels available here but they come in CTO flavors, not CTS. (Seems like Rosco is the only company producing CTS gels?)

    Do you know of any shop that I can order from and do they accept international orders?

    Thank you!

    Regards,
    David

    Reply
  15. 15Neil vN says

    February 19, 2010 at 3:45 am

    David .. in that case, just get the CTO gels. Compared to the difference it will make to your flash photography when in shooting in incandescent lighting, the difference between the two gels are minor. I’d just get the CTO then.

    Reply
  16. 16David says

    February 19, 2010 at 11:28 am

    Jonathan,

    Hey, thanks for the link.

    I checked out the local store and got myself a large piece of Lee Filter Straw No.103. A big disappointment. I went home and realized it is no different from the 1/4 CTO gel I’ve already had.

    I wanted to get the CTS cos I had just finished reading Neil’s book, and he mentioned CTS is preferred to CTO because the former gives better skin tones. I should have read more elsewhere.

    Anyway thanks.

    Reply
  17. 17Tad G says

    March 31, 2010 at 3:44 pm

    Hi Neil,

    I wonder if you use internal SB-900 zoom during shooting on weddings, when you bounce flash? What is your settings on SB-900 in this situation? I think that is good to use zoom during shooting in bright day, when try to use max power of flash but when bounce flash in rooms, churches and closed places it should be turned off. What setting is good and useful, let me know.

    Tad

    Reply
  18. 18Neil vN says

    March 31, 2010 at 5:34 pm

    Tad, I do zoom my speedlight to the maximum setting when I bounce flash. This makes the flash a little bit more efficient. And since I am bouncing flash .. and will therefore have a large light source anyway.

    Reply
  19. 19Huiyin says

    March 31, 2010 at 11:24 pm

    Neil, how maximum (…mm) zoom setting can do with canon 580 ex ii? Thanks Neil

    Reply
  20. 20Neil vN says

    March 31, 2010 at 11:30 pm

    Huiyin .. page 20 of the 580 EX II manual.

    Reply
  21. 21olympus_fotograph says

    May 13, 2010 at 11:05 am

    hey Neil,

    How do you fix your gels on your flash?
    something like this?

    i hate it to attach it every time with a small office tape.
    but if the gel holder is not clear, how much light loss will be expected?( on the lumiquest page it says it depends on the gel (itself) )….but there will also some loss of light if its not clear…negligible??
    i also use the black foamie thing, successful!
    grts
    olympus

    Reply
  22. 22Neil vN says

    May 19, 2010 at 4:15 am

    I carry the pieces of gel around, stuck to my lenshood and just stick them with gaffer tape onto the flashhead.

    Quite low-tech.

    The loss of light is small. And TTL flash will take it into account, so no need to compensate for it then.

    Reply
  23. 23Chuck says

    June 10, 2010 at 7:43 am

    Neil,

    You mentioned zooming the lens to get more bounced light.
    Did you mean zoomed in or zoomed out?
    Can you still zoom in while leaving the settings in TTL?

    Reply
  24. 24Neil vN says

    June 10, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    Hi there Chuck ..

    In this instance we’re referring to zooming the flash-head. Not the lens. With zooming the flash-head you effectively get a bit more power out of the speedlight because the light-beam is more concentrated.

    Reply
  25. 25Ivan says

    August 12, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    Hi Neil,

    1. Canon st-e2 has ratio control, ratio control is same with flash exposure?
    2. How adjust flash exposure with canon st-e2 speedlite transmitter?

    Thanks Neil

    Reply
  26. 26Neil vN says

    August 12, 2010 at 9:21 pm

    Ivan … ratio control on the ST-E2 (or Master flash) isn’t the same as Flash Exposure Compensation. That is something you’d adjust on your camera body … or the Master flash.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  27. 27mike says

    August 12, 2010 at 9:31 pm

    Neil,
    Do i spend $500 on a sb 900 or go the extra yard and get the quantum?? is it over kill for everyday photography? do i lose anything with the Quantum system?? thanks

    Reply
  28. 28Neil vN says

    August 13, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    Mike .. I love my Q-flashes, but they don’t offer the subtle control over your flash as a dedicated speedlight would. Where the Q-flashes are superior is in build quality … and that they are very robust. You can fire them for long periods without fear of them melting down like a speedlight would.

    So my recommendation would be to get another SB-900 over a Q-flash.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  29. 29Trina Cheney says

    August 23, 2010 at 2:55 pm

    Hi Neil,

    Why don’t you use the nikon gels that come with the SB800/900 instead of the CTS gels? When I use the nikon gels my WB is worse so I go back to auto mode.

    Reply
  30. 30Neil vN says

    August 23, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    Trina .. I use the gels as well over my Q-flashes. And any other flash I might use. So it helps keeping it consistent. And it is cheap enough to cut up more gels if one gets crumpled or lost.

    Then there is the misguided idea I have that my speedlights might be worth more on the used market if the gels are still intact.

    Reply
  31. 31Stephen says

    December 1, 2010 at 11:28 pm

    What external flash should I use to take 100+ group pictures (indoor)?

    Thanks

    <
    sw

    Reply
  32. 32Neil vN says

    December 1, 2010 at 11:41 pm

    Stephen …. 100 people individually? Then a speedlight would suffice.

    100+ people in a group shot indoors, with sufficient depth of field and with a reasonable ISO?
    Then you’re looking at higher powered setups like the Alien Bees or Elinchroms or Profoto kits.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  33. 33Stephen says

    December 2, 2010 at 12:27 am

    thanks for responding so fast . . .I’ve been learning a lot from your site.

    Referring back to my question, I’m asking about a group picture with 100 people together with a depth of field of 8f and 400 ISO. How much power of light do I need? Would 2 SB 900 on both sides and a SB 800 in the center work?

    Thanks,

    <
    sw

    Reply
  34. 34Neil vN says

    December 20, 2010 at 1:19 am

    Stephen .. this truly is a point at which you need to do physical homework. Set up the lights, and test it with a flashmeter whether you are getting enough light for the scenario you envisage.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  35. 35Bahy says

    December 21, 2010 at 10:04 am

    hi Neil. Have you ever used colored omni-bounce diffusers? Can they be used instead of gels? Finally what is your opinion on Nikon SB-400. I thought of it just to photograph my kids/friends? Thanks for the valuable website.

    Reply
  36. 36Neil vN says

    December 21, 2010 at 11:25 am

    Bahy .. I have one of the amber omi-bounce diffusers. They were very well.

    However, I use only the white omni-bounce now. The advantage with this is that if I have a gel on my flash, the color temperature of my flash doesn’t change as I pop the omni-bounce on and off.

    With an amber omni-bounce, the color temperature would wildly change if I removed it for some reason.

    Re the Nikon SB-400 … I would still recommend getting a more powerful speedlight.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  37. 37Dragos says

    December 21, 2010 at 1:40 pm

    Neil, I don’t understand. 2900 mAh batteries, or 2600? Thanks.

    Reply
  38. 38Neil vN says

    December 24, 2010 at 1:22 am

    Dragos .. the Eneloops are only 2000 mAh, but this year I have replaced ALL my rechargeable batteries with the Eneloops. More important than the power they can deliver, was the fact that they have an incredibly low self-discharge rate.

    A fully-charged Eneloop is rated to still have 85% of its juice left after a year on the shelf. This is hugely important for me, in that I can now keep a stash of batteries on hand, without perpetually having to recharge them before a shoot.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  39. 39Michael says

    January 2, 2011 at 8:50 am

    Hi Neil, awesome site, great info you have there!

    Just a question about the choice of flashguns… I looked at the 580EX II but it is actually quite pricey. What do you think about the 430EX II? Is the fact that the head only rotates by 90 degrees a big annoyance? I’m not a big flash user but I will get some wedding photography done in a couple of months so I’m considering the options!

    Cheers
    Mike

    Reply
  40. 40Michael says

    January 2, 2011 at 8:51 am

    Oh… and happy new year by the way! :)

    Reply
  41. 41Neil vN says

    January 12, 2011 at 12:36 am

    Mike .. the way the Canon 580 EX II rotates in 180 degrees in both directions is a huge bonus, and for me would always mean its the better choice over the 430 EX.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  42. 42John M Roberts says

    January 13, 2011 at 12:15 am

    Neil, do the rechargeable batteries in the SB-900 lose their power equally to those in the SD-9 when used together? If so then my thoughts would be to use alkaline or lithium in the SB-900 which would have more pops. Therefor when the rechargeable SD-9 is depleted all is needed is to switch to another SD pack and not fumble with the four batteries inside the speedlight. I’m not familiar yet with the combination and this may not be a concern for you. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

    Loved your book and all your on going great information you share here.

    Reply
  43. 43Neil vN says

    January 13, 2011 at 12:34 am

    John .. I have no idea at which rates the flash’s batteries lose their power compared to the battery pack. Any mathematical solution like you propose there, just makes it more difficult compared to just using the same batteries (in groups of 4), for all the speedlights and battery packs. That makes loading new batteries a faster effort than loading different types into different parts.

    So for the practical consideration of this, it is easier for me to just use Sanyo Eneloops in everything.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  44. 44Jonathan Seawright says

    April 17, 2011 at 12:25 am

    Neil,

    Random thought. If I take two sheets of the half straw CTS and layer them ontop of each other, will the result be essentially the same as using a Full straw filter?

    Jonathan

    Reply
  45. 45Neil vN says

    June 15, 2011 at 11:01 am

    Jonathan .. the color balance will change and become a deeper orange, but they don’t quite add up linearly like that.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  46. 46Anoop Nair says

    June 30, 2011 at 10:40 am

    Hello Neil
    Do you allways use Nikon SD-9 High Performance Battery Pack with D3? How do you carry the SD9 while shooting? attached to your Belt? Can i still put 4 Battaery in the Flash even iam using SD 9?
    Thanks
    Anoop

    Reply
  47. 47Neil vN says

    June 30, 2011 at 11:04 am

    I usually use the Nikon SD-9 or Canon CP-E4 battery packs.
    I keep them on the camera strap by fastening the pouch over the loop of the camera strap. This way it dangles from the camera. I have to make sure though it doesn’t swing around when I need the camera to be stable.

    You need the 4 batteries in the flash to have the flash work.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  48. 48Anoop Nair says

    June 30, 2011 at 11:16 am

    Thanks Neil

    I thing i need to understand the methode in little more detail, You Said ” I keep them on the camera strap by fastening the pouch over the loop of the camera strap. This way it dangles from the camera” i thing the SD-9 Put some extra weight on the camera . and it will not be easy to lift the D3S to eye frequently. i am asking your openion about attaching the SD9 on my waist on the Belt. do you thing its comfortable? iam planing to buy it today
    Anoop

    Reply
  49. 49Neil vN says

    June 30, 2011 at 11:57 am

    Anoop, you have to keep in mind that I carry my Nikon bodies in a specific way, due to the plate I attach to the bottom of the camera. It completely changes the handling of the camera and camera strap.

    I do this because I usually work with two cameras, and need their battery packs to be independent from me. But if you work with a single camera, it makes more sense to put the battery pack on your waist belt.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  50. 50Ray says

    June 30, 2011 at 4:53 pm

    Hi Neil,
    I use the eneloop batteries (they are awesome by the way and I’ll never go back), but I am having trouble finding a decent larger capacity charger. Does the pearstone charger work with the eneloops?

    Reply
  51. 51Neil vN says

    June 30, 2011 at 6:02 pm

    Ray .. that’s exactly what I’ve been using – the Pearstone chargers. They appear to work well and I haven’t had any reason to want to change to another charger in all this time.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  52. 52mike s says

    August 27, 2011 at 8:44 am

    Neil,
    does Nikon make a battery pack for the sb700?? ty

    Reply
  53. 53Neil vN says

    August 27, 2011 at 8:52 am

    I could be cute about it and say yes, Nikon makes a battery pack for it … but the SB-700 can’t take it since it has no connector for a battery pack.

    It’s the one major downfall of the SB-700 (and Canon 430 EX II) that they don’t take external battery packs.

    Neil vN

    Reply
  54. 54mike s says

    August 27, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    glad you werent cute, so i guess its time to trade it for the 900, i guess its rechargables for now, thanks again……i would have had some time trying to plug a battery pack in!

    Reply
  55. 55mike says

    August 29, 2011 at 1:12 pm

    is it worth trading up from the sb700 to the sb900?? other than an external battery option, is the extra reach worth it?

    Reply
  56. 56Jonathan says

    August 30, 2011 at 8:18 am

    Hi Neil,

    I have a little question for you … How you determine to use a Full CTS Gel rather than 1/2 CTS Gel in thungsteen light scenario ???

    Have a nice day !!!

    Jonathan

    Reply
  57. 57mike says

    August 30, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    According to Neil: The Full CTS will bring your flash WB down to around 2900K, more or less neutralising the look of the Tungsten light. The 1/2 CTS will bring your flash WB to around 3800K, which will leave your backgrounds still with a touch of the warmth of Tungsten lighting.

    Reply
  58. 58Amani opulukwa says

    September 27, 2011 at 9:48 pm

    Hey Neil,
    can u tell me what is the full name of Learning Flash techniques people talking about in this articles i can go buy it please!!!!
    Thanks Amani

    Reply
  59. 59Trev says

    September 27, 2011 at 11:06 pm

    Amani,

    Neil’s books on flash: On Camera Flash and the other is Off Camera Flash

    Trev

    Reply
  60. 60Michael says

    November 12, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    Neil, I believe you posted once on a flash stand that you recommended. It may have been blue in color and had a locking feature. Do you recall?

    Reply
  61. 61Neil vN says

    February 24, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    Michael, you’re thinking of the Frio

    Reply

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