I don't think the OP is "gelling one particular light source ALL the time", as you assume. He's always using gels, but the light sources undoubtedly vary, which is why he's choosing between 1/8 and 1/2 CTO depending on circumstances.
My point was that a gel allows a closer balance of the color temperature of the flash and ambient light sources, whereas a WB setting in the camera affects the color temperature of the whole scene. Setting WB will not make the color temp of the flash closer to that of the ambient light. If the color temps of the flash and ambient light are very different, one or the other is not going to look right, no matter what WB setting one uses.
I like to have my subjects about 300K warmer than neutral, and my ambient indoor lighting about 1000-1500K warmer than neutral. This way, the subjects look natural and appealing, and the the background looks tungsten-lit without being garish orange.
Shooting without gel under tungsten light, if I simply adjust WB to make the subjects look natural, i.e. around 5000K, the background looks orange. If I set WB to neutralize the ambient, the flash-lit subjects look ghoulish blue. By putting a 1/4 or 1/2 CTO on the flash, I can set WB to around 3800K to make the subject look natural and the background still warm but less orange than otherwise.
Since indoor lighting varies from place to place and I often vary my flash/ambient ratio, I often have to tweak the gel/WB combo, using 1/4 or 1/2 CTO and setting WB in a range between 2800K and 4500K.
WB alone can correct one light source or another, but only one. Where lighting is mixed, a gel helps. And, even with gel, there's no one WB setting than can optimally correct all situations.
yes I gel my Qflash with a 1/8th or 1/2 C.T.O. gel all the time
If he's gelling one particular light source ALL the time, he might as
well set his camera up for that permanently.
--
RDKirk
'TANSTAAFL: The only unbreakable rule in photography.'
--
'No matter where you go, there you are.'
