This question is of course in relation to regular more 'saturated' gels, and I think the answer may vary from individual to individual. But for me, yes, yes pastel gels are most certainly harder to use than regular gels.

This comes to down to a few factors, but primarily, pastel gels require specific modifiers. For example, you're in for a shock if you think you can throw some pastel gels on a little reflector dish and grid setup and expect to get some delicate, soft tones. Not a chance.

Because we want a more muted colour, we have to use a softer modifier and these softer modifiers and coloured gels HATE working together!
Don't believe me? Just do a quick search on YouTube for 'gelled lighting tutorials' and you'll find video, after countless video of some poor YouTuber trying to teach you how to use gels, and guess what? They're all using saturated gels on spots and grids with dark-skinned models.
Using pastel gels, on huge modifiers with pale skinned models, is a real pain and far less forgiving.
But thankfully (in my opinion) it's well worth the extra trouble to tough it out with these pastel gels because I love how the colours look!😍

If you're not familiar with the key differences between saturated and pastel gels, then look at this pastel gel shot here. See how the highlights and shadows are a lot more muted. See how the colour appears to seamlessly wrap around the body? But most importantly, (and hardest to achieve) see how the colours of the subject are coming through the pastel gel colours. This is the real fight and one that can be very hard to manage.

It goes without saying that using regular gels is like using oil paint. They dominate and sit on top of whatever is underneath them and rarely mix. Pastel gels are the watercolours of the lighting world. They merely glaze the object with hints of colour and this is what's so beautiful about their final effect to me.

What's your point Jake?!?!?
I have ONE spot left on my 'Creatively Simple Lighting' Workshop on March 7th ... and you guessed it, we'll be learning how to effectively shoot with pastel gels 😁

All that to tell you that you'll be missing out on some sweet, sweet pastel gel action if you don't come😊

LINK BELOW

Model: Valencia Germain

Here's the link to the workshop if you'd like to know more 😊
https://jakehicksphotography.com/creatively-simple...
I look forward to seeing you there :D