White Balance After Flash

[EchoingWhisper]

Does white balance change after using flash?

Using my logic (may not be right), since a flash is free of colour cast, wouldn't using it reduce the color cast? Eg, yellow color cast turned into light yellow cast after flash.

 

[analog.universe]

All light has a color, flash is usually around 5500k somewhere. Mixing it with yellow light in a scene will yield a different overall color than the non-flashed light on it's own, except it usually becomes obvious that there were 2 light sources of different colors used. They mix in different amounts on different surfaces, and you don't get a perfect blend. The solution is to match the flash color to the ambient color. So if you're shooting where the light is a little yellow, put a warming gel on the flash, and then use your white balance adjustment to bring it all back to neutral. Mixing two different color lights in a scene just looks like two different color lights, not the average between them. (although you may see that average on certain surfaces at certain angles)

 

[EchoingWhisper]

Does gels take away a lot of the light?

 

[analog.universe]

There is a reduction yes, its never been an issue for me though... how often are your speedlights cranked all the way up?

Here is an info page about the gels I use with some transmission percentages: Rosco US : Filters : Roscolux