A palette is a design choice. Overlapping beams and stacked filters are different physical operations. Explore each on its own.
A palette assigns appearance goals to photographic roles. Additive mixing combines linear-light contributions. Stacked filters selectively remove parts of one source.
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This palette uses the display’s RGB/HSL convention. Traditional RYB artist wheels arrange complements differently. A pleasing opposite pair on an artistic wheel does not guarantee white when real gelled lights overlap.
Appropriately balanced additive complements can approach a neutral result. Actual gels, source spectra, materials, camera sensitivity, WB and processing all affect the photograph.
The overlap model sums linear sRGB intensities, then encodes the result for display. Values beyond the display range are clipped and flagged. Intensity is a teaching control, not a flash setting.
Stacked-filter mode uses ideal three-band pass/block filters. It does not multiply display swatches or catalog transmission percentages to predict physical gels. Real transmission varies by wavelength.
These tools propose experiments. Screen colors are appearance targets, not recovered spectra, gel identities or guaranteed camera results. Numeric measurement inputs are supplied by you; publication and studio testing are separate checks.
Selective transmission, source spectra and materials. This is technical background, not proof that our starting setups were photographed.
A photographer’s documented example of camera white balance interacting with filtered light; not a universal Kelvin prescription.
The linear-light conversion used in our educational RGB display model.
Learn gel types, white balance, natural skin, spill control and repeatable exposure checks.
Read the flash gels & color guide →These tools propose experiments. Screen colors are appearance targets, not recovered spectra, gel identities or guaranteed camera results. Numeric measurement inputs are supplied by you; publication and studio testing are separate checks.
Selective transmission, source spectra and materials. This is technical background, not proof that our starting setups were photographed.
A photographer’s documented example of camera white balance interacting with filtered light; not a universal Kelvin prescription.
Examples of isolating colored contributions and testing the combined result.
The linear-light conversion used in our educational RGB display model.
Placement, lens flags, metering methods and a downloadable f/8 reference card.