This DIY will show you how to create custom color gels to fit into the popular Godox Ad200 and its equivalent Flashpoint variant.
Adding color gels to you flashes is an exciting way to explore color hues in your work and intrinsically explore color theory.
The same DYI principles laid out here can be applied to any other flash source with very simple modifications.
As always, this information is posted without any type of guaranteed, so use common sense adapting your equipment.
Color Gels
Light control is a fundamental and extensive segment of a photographer’s work. Perhaps this is one of those fundamentals cornerstones to the success of an image, as a vehicle of narrative and emotional transmission.
We use color gels because they are fun, but more importantly, because they allow us to introduce color to a situation that requires them. Picture environments with mixed colors temperatures (fluorescent is one the most common scenarios) Color gels are also an important tool to balance daylight, tungsten or any other specific color source). They can also be used to enhance the mood of an image, thus create an emotional response to a scene, by enhancing its narrative power.
Regardless of the situation, color is a very powerful tool. Mastering this skill can enhance your message and audience’s response.
Color Gels for the AD200 Bulb Mode
This DIY focus around the Godox AD200 and its Flashpoint variant while using the bulb/tube mode instead of the flash adapter (there are lots of cheap options to color gel the flash, not so many for the bulb).
There’s a commercially available product which allows you to add a color gels to the bulb. This DYI aims at producing the same results, providing an affordable solution to the expensive commercial option ( only 8 color gels for $50).
Color Gel Kit
First, you need to buy a color gel kit. I was fortunate to find a brand new LEE Filters Quick Location Pack in Ebay for about $21. This kits comes with 24 10″x12″ color gel sheets. The kit includes 2 color-correction gels for: Full CTB, ½ CTB, Full CTO, ½ CTO. I saved the spare sheet, so I can use it later in a larger light fixture or video light.
The kit sells new at BH and Adorama for $32. There are many other excellent color gel kits out there, Rosco and Lee some of the most famous, at a similar price point. They should all work exactly the same for this DYI project.
Silicone Cooking Bands
The last item that you need to get is a few silicone cooking bands capable of sustaining heat. Light bulbs can run very hot. You don’t want to have the bulb damaged by any melted material. I’ve used cooking silicone bands capable of withstanding high temperatures.
Color Gel PDF Template
I’ve made a simple PDF template taking the measurements of the AD200 light bulb. Print the PDF as a guide to cut your gel sheet. You can probably adjust this same format for other Godox light bulbs sizes.
Once you have the printed PDF you can use the measurements to cut a new template to be used with the gels. I have made a copy of each of the colors and color filters I got. I take them with me on every location I use my strobes.
Once the filter is cut, you carefully wrap it around the bulb and secure it with the silicone band. The filters have shown to be resistant enough for many set-ups. I don’t worry about damaging them when I get them in or out of the bulb.
I hope you play around with color in your photos. I think it’s an important part of your photography and one that doesn’t require much investment once you have your set of strobes.