I have observed that most of us come alive as our best selves as soon as the camera is in sight, don’t we? O how we love those pouty selfies! Photographs are like trapped memories to bring us a lifetime of joy, to seize the moment forever.

I am an avid photographer, my latest fad is using colored gels to enhance the pictures I take , If you are an aspiring photographer I suggest using colored gels to bring your portraits to life for the next big festivity coming your way, your subjects will love it . In the Shakespearean era, glass full of red wine was kept in front of the lights to give a colored effect on stage but all we have to do is use the color gels available in the market to capture beautiful portraits. Colored gels add depth to our photographs and make them look more appealing to the eye. They soften the corners, give a fine glaze to the pictures and enhance the subject. Try to get creative, use different colors to enhance the background or make the picture look dreamy.

Colored gel is a transparent colored plastic or polyester, used on a flashlight during photography or videography, it’s available in varied colors to help capture amazing portraits. You can also DIY by using colored cellophane sheets or colored glass, just get all groovy and create!

Here are a few tips to help you kick start your relation with colored gels.

1.Be brave to experiment with colors before deciding on any one, take a few shots to see which color works best for the mood, the subject ,the lighting and go with the one that pops out.

2.Colored gels only add colors to shadows, so remember to get your lighting right to improve the effect of these gels. It may be tricky to balance the saturation around the frame, however you can add a color or two to give your picture more depth or try to dim the power of your lights.

Use snout to project white light on a specific part of the subject and fill the remaining part with colored gels, this way you can complement the shade of gel with the clothes of the subject or any particular color you want to match with in the frame. Use strobe lights, reflectors, dish lights to enhance your photograph with the gels.

3.Mix and match colors to get colorful strobes if you like in your portrait , maybe a color to complement the model’s skin tone, the backdrop or their dress! Use two flashlights if you have to, it will give a fusion of colors . Most preferred scheme of colored gels used by photographers is the white light in the middle and two different colored gels on both sides – go on try !

Now it makes one wonder how to get the correct colors for a portrait , what goes best with which one? If in doubt, use the color wheel – just google it and get on the exciting path to using complementing colored gels to create mind blowing portraits!

You can color the backdrop , work up the shadows or do just about anything innovative. The idea is to create magic and colored gels are our best friends!

These gels can be used indoors or outdoors though they work best during the darker time of the day.

To get a better idea, look up the award winning American photographer Lindsey Adler to see how she creates amazing portraits using colored gels in out of the box ways . So what are you waiting for … get started on this thrilling journey of creativity!