texxter
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2018
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- Dallas, TX
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am curious if anyone has opinions on using colored gels on a neutral backdrop vs. a colored backdrop - in this case, blue paper instead of a blue gel? As long as I am lighting it separately, gels seem like a simpler solution, but I'm sure there are some limitations with this.
Your idea of using complementary colors is great, and works nicely. I have used the same thing for fun, and I was happy with the results - although using bright colored background in the studio is not something I gravitate towards. I enjoyed this fun session with an expressive friend - used a gel on the flash on the background, which was black:

I like colored backgrounds best when working outside the studio environment -- so I find a nice color out there and I may use it as a background, often with the assistance of on-location flashes. I mention this to give you another option, namely, use colored backgrounds already out there and bring your softbox to that location. Of course, it is also fun to bring gels to a studio location and use them against an existing boring background.
Often I just use colored walls:


Here I used a glass wall and put a gelled flash behind to make it blue:

For this photo, made in a corporate office room, I projected a gelled light against the background wall:
