Do your free flash gels...

Crinkle up after you shoot with them over your flash? I finally got my free flash gels in the mail. And, I taped them in front of my flash and tested some shots with it. When I was done the gel seemed to crinkle up and their ruined after that. Wonder if anyone has the same problem and has a solution...

I'm sure someone here knows more than I do about these, but I'm under the impression that some of them are heat resistant and some aren't. I've heard that if you fire your flash in rapid succession some of those gels can melt.

i tried it with a 580ex and it did crinkle up like you said , the flash was on manual on full power , after that i put the flash on ettl and moved the gel away from the flash but that's not how i want to use them , ( i was holding the gel with my hand ) i also would like to know if anybody has a solution or tips on how to use them without melting them .

chabooky386 wrote in post #6144864
When I was done the gel seemed to crinkle up and their ruined after that.

That's probably why they were free

If you tape the gel to the side of the flash head so that that both ends of the gel are flush with the side of the flash head, the gel will curve away from the face of the flash and be less prone to heat damage compared to when the gel is actually touching the flash face.

yes, if the gel is touching or very close to the flash head.

I made a holder from cereal box to hold the gel about 1 inch away and it doesn't get crinkle up. Basically it's like a very short snoot.

I'm not sure how close it could be without the heat from the flash damage the gel.

I got a Rosco gel starter kit not too long ago and in it was a small plastic bag with colorful filters inside and a warning on the bag:

"IMPORTANT NOTE: When using the Rosco Primary Blue, Moss Green, or Light Red Gel, place the enclosed Rosco Clear UV gel between it and your flash lens. It will protect these inherently thinner gels from the high heat created by some flash units when using at higher power and/or with higher voltage batteries."

Sound like it may apply to your case, too.

chabooky386 wrote in post #6144864
Crinkle up after you shoot with them over your flash? I finally got my free flash gels in the mail. And, I taped them in front of my flash and tested some shots with it. When I was done the gel seemed to crinkle up and their ruined after that. Wonder if anyone has the same problem and has a solution...

just got mine today, in what situations do you actually use this gels?

Keep a bit of air space between the gel and the flash lens to reduce overheating problems.

They will warp with heat, but warped does not equal ruined. I've got a pile of those things that look like they've been through a war. They still work.

jeromego wrote in post #6148175
in what situations do you actually use this gels?

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=415671
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=460248
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=218280

I use them with a piece of cereal box and gaffers tape. Just make a simple holder to give your gels a little room.

jeromego wrote in post #6148175
just got mine today, in what situations do you actually use this gels?

I use them for colored backgrounds

I made a holder out of foil/some random hard foam... didn't hold up so I just made another out of cardboard. No pics of the new one (which works awesome, btw) but the old one can be seen here.

I got a huge roll of "gel" for $10 from a local store. If I fry some I just go cut some more out and add on velcro to attach it to my flash head. I haven't used them enough to know if they'll react to heat badly.

jeromego wrote in post #6148175
just got mine today, in what situations do you actually use this gels?

I like to put them over my flash then shoot a gray card and use that image as a custom white balance.
Using a orangey gel will get you a cool looking bluey background.
Similar to the film days when you would put tungsten film, tungsten gel, then shoot in daylight conditions.
(btw, my flash head has a little bit of gel burned to it.)

The surface of the flash head gets really friggin hot at full power. I held a Sigma 500 DG ST up to my cheek and fired at full power one time. I had about 2 days worth of stubble - the flash was really hot against my skin and I could smell my facial hair getting singed.

I ran to a mirror to see if I had a big red rectangle on my face, but I didn't.