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07/19/2008 03:29:43 PM · #1 |
| Greetings all - I've been perusing the forums and site for months, but just submitted my first entry today and after multiple problems with my original idea, decided to go with something different. That being said, and back to the point -- and please forgive my naivete -- but how does one take a picture with a perfectly black background or a perfectly white background which blends flawlessly with whatever surface the object/person is sitting on? I love the look, but couldn't come close to replicating it . . . is it all a lighting thing (I'm still using the standard flash on my 40D) or just a background material issue? Probably both. Anyway, thanks for your help in advance - DPC has been a fantastically rewarding and educational experience even without submitting any photos until now. |
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07/19/2008 04:06:23 PM · #2 |
| All in the lighting. For an all-black background you use a physically dark background, create physical separation between subject and background, and light the subject a couple stops above the level of the background. for all-white background, you light a white backdrop a couple stops above the subject, and expose for the subject. |
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07/19/2008 05:41:47 PM · #3 |
Further to what Kirbic is saying ... the "separation" helps create the black background. Any background (of any color) will go black if it's far enough away. Remember that light diminishes with the square of the distance. So if the light is 2 feet away from the subject but 4 feet away from the background, then the background will receive 1/4th the amount of light (it's twice as far away ... 2 squared is 4, making it 1/4th). The further you move it, the darker it gets.
Edit to add: Of course, the darker the background is to begin with (and the less reflective it is), the easier it will be to make the background go black.
To make the background white, you're going to need extra lights because you'll have to throw MORE light on the background than what is hitting your subject. So you need a light that is pointed at the background but not spilling on the subject in any way. Turn that light up a couple of stops and the background will go white.
And likewise, the lighter the background is (closer to white), the easier it will be to make the background go white.
Message edited by author 2008-07-19 21:50:37.
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07/19/2008 10:40:46 PM · #4 |
| Thank you both for your responses - extremely helpful as expected. Hopefully I will be able to work toward results of the caliber I have seen on DPC. Again, thanks! |
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07/20/2008 12:21:04 AM · #5 |
As far as white backgrounds are concerned, you might want to read this article.
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07/21/2008 10:30:18 AM · #6 |
| Thanks Camabs - article was very useful! |
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07/21/2008 12:03:12 PM · #7 |
Black is absence of light (or 3 stops below the subject's exposure will do)
White is 3 stops more light than the subject's exposure.
Gray seamless (paper) can be easily made to look light either. If you want it to also be under the subject then a roll of white seamless is probably an easier way to go, but it's hard to turn it all black.
Gray paper looks just about like this when lit the same as the subject
this is white paper rolled onto a table
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