Lindsay Adler
Lindsay Adler is a fashion photographer, educator, and author based in New York City. You can follow her work and see her photography on her website, lindsayadlerphotography.com, or on Instagram @lindsayadler_photo.
To drastically change the color of the light in your scene, you don’t need to rely on Photoshop! You can get creative with color if you understand white balance and how to (correctly) mix color temperatures.
Step 1: Get the correct exposure for your scene using a single strobe (here a beauty dish with a grid) and a daylight white balance.
Step 2: Add a CTO ‘color temperature orange’ gel to the strobe. This will make your subject’s face appear orange. Adjust exposure as necessary.
Step 3: Change your white balance to tungsten. This corrects the color of the skin on the face. Because it cools the shot down (it reduces the warmness on the face), now the background will appear blue.
Step 4: Add more CTO (or double up) to make the main light even warmer. Adjust a custom white balance to cool the shot even more to compensate and achieve correct skin tones. The background will be even bluer!
Interested in learning more about white balance and how it can drastically change the quality of your photos? Check out these guides on 42 West:
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