Focus On Lighting Photos Focus on the Fundamentals.pdf

in photographic light tables
and viewing booths, plus a few
workbenches used for assembling
small parts. There are also
photographic softboxes with
fluorescent tubes approximating
daylight color. All of these are too
expensive for most general room
illumination, however.
To make matters worse, many
building maintenance people
don’t care what color fluorescent
they use. Many work areas have
a mix of tubes that add together
to conform to no standard color.
Although few photographers like
fluorescent lighting, we are still
forced to deal with them. These
72 <strong>Focus</strong> <strong>On</strong> <strong>Lighting</strong> <strong>Photos</strong>
lights are generally used as
ceiling lighting for large spaces.
Even though we can correct
for the green or magenta hues (if
the lights are all the same color),
the people may still look awful
because most light is coming
from directly above and we get
horrible shadows (remember the
raccoon eyes). The only way to
fix this is first to set our camera
to the correct fluorescent white
balance and then use a flash (in
camera or off camera) to fill in
those ugly shadows with a gel
on the flash to make it match
the color setting in the camera.
Which gel we use will depend on
the type of fluorescent lighting
we’re in. If we shoot with the
camera on the correct fluorescent
setting but don’t gel the flash,
the flash will make everyone look
fairly orange. If we leave the
camera on daylight and gel the
flash, the color of the fluorescents
will be evident in the shot. So if
you are going to be shooting a
lot in this type of light, carry a
couple of gels specifically for the
green and magenta fluorescent
light types. They weigh almost
nothing and they just need to be
big enough to cover your flash
head. (The Strobist gel collection
includes a couple of gels of each
color we are most likely to need,
including fluorescent correction.)