 Jennifer H. White |
How do I get the look of a white background? ... On a budget. I am fairly new to photography, and have a limited amount of equipment. I love the look of a bright white background. I understand you have to have certain lighting to achieve this look, but all I have is my digital camera with the built in flash. I'm still learning and don't want to spend much money on extra equipment just yet. Is there any way to achieve this look with things found around the house?
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John H. Siskin |
Probably not, or we wouldn’t spend money on backgrounds. Here is a link to an article here on BetterPhoto about backgrounds: www.betterphoto.com/article.php?id=176. I afraid the article won’t help you with light; maybe you could set up a background outside. Thanks, John Siskin
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Jennifer H. White |
Thanks. I have been doing a lot of searching on the subject today. I have found instructions on how to build your own (inexpensive)light tent. I'm going to try that for now. I'm not particularly interested in doing portraiture, so maybe the 'light tent' will work out for stills.
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John H. Siskin |
Hi Jennifer, Check out the do it yourself light panels: www.betterphoto.com/article.php?id=156.butt you will still need lights. Thanks, John Siskin
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W. |
How about faking it? Set up your subject/object in front of a contrasting background when in post production you replace that background by white. Good luck!
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Bernard |
A couple of white bed sheets, wide aperture, and zoom. I did it wit cat in black in my gallery.
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Betsy Labuschagne |
I agree with Bernard Jennifer. White sheets can work fine. Try to place your subject in front of a big window. Drape the sheet behind them and try to keep some space between them and the back sheet. Don't use flash as you'll get a shadow on the background.
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W. |
Betsy, have you considered the slow shutter speeds your method will result in? The shutter speeds are probably gonna be far too slow for people or pet photography. Keep the sheets, but add light. LOTS of it. Of which 80% goes onto the background (sheet) and 20% is for subject lighting. Use (D-I-Y) reflectors. Good luck!
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Betsy Labuschagne |
WS, I photographed my own kids like this long before I ever planned to start a studio. I used my film camera on auto, sat them in front of a big window on white sheets, and was very happy with the results. This is a quick fix method. Obviously if you're planning to run a professional studio, then an infinity curve (which is what I'm using in the studio), with studio lighting would be ideal.
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Jennifer H. White |
As I mentioned, I'm not really interested in portraiture. I'm more interested in stills. Also, keep in mind that I am a beginner. The whole idea is for me to try out different things without spending a fortune on equipment that I may only use a few times.
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W. |
It's got nothing to do with you being a beginner or not, Jennifer. The laws of physics are the laws of physics. They don't change for beginners. If you want a white background and a properly lit subject that white background will require 3 stops more light than the subject (for which you expose).
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dennis w. mcclain |
dont forget to manualy expose. auto will try to achive 50% gray. and your subject will be to dark. if you shoot in raw you might can adjust the exposer in camera raw, but its better to get it right
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W. |
18% actually, Dennis.
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Jennifer H. White |
Being a beginner DOES matter when it comes to buying expensive equipment. I'm not going to spend a fortune on equipment that I may or may not use down the road.
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dennis w. mcclain |
sorry my bad, butr gray none the less. I have gone through a great deal of trial and error trying to get a good white background
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W. |
You get what you pay for, Jennifer. Good luck.
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Tareq M. Alhamrani |
Jennifer, I am a beginner as well. But I learnt in hard way that I have to spend alot to get what I want without any regret, I did spend on something cheap as I thought I don't need more, but later on I spent again for something better and more expensive and I got much better results, so if I do photography even as beginner hobbyist I shouldn't try everything cheap, at least we all would like to see high quality results whether it is by a pro or a beginner, and one more thing, you will never know when you will move from a beginner level to advanced level, so be ready with high equipment once rather than buying every time upgrading from one level to higher. Good luck
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Kara L. Hendricks |
If you check out my gallery, you will see white backgrounds are a favorite of mine... I use a white muslin 9X12 backdrop and get great results by overexposing my camera... I still use a P&S so I don't know how much different a DSLR would be... But I crank the exposure up to about +1.7 and ALWAYS photograph my subject, still life or people, outdoors... You just can't beat natural light in my opinion... I choose an overcast day or I set up in my carport so my light is controlled.. No bright shadows etc. In post process, I may have to dodge the blue tint out a bit, but overall, this works well for me... Good luck!
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dennis w. mcclain |
if your shooting a realativly small subject eg one person a couple or objects about that size. I painted a wall flat white, get 2 160w/s strobes, and 2 silver umbrellas. placesd behind the subject and t5o the side. angle it were you are getting strong even light across the back ground. shout in manual mode. play with the settings till you get what you want. thats about the best cheepest way I can tell ya. and it took alot of expense for me to figure that out
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Jennifer H. White |
Thanks Kara... That was a helpful answer. Actually, I have found quite a few articles and DIY instructions for quite a few things that are normally very expensive... and they actually work. So I guess sometimes you don't have to spend a fortune to get a great result.
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Laura Hartline-Marcath |
Jennifer, I would love it if you could share some of the links/info you found!! I'm a beginner myself & in no way have the money to spend either!! Thanks in Advance
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- Nikki McDonald Contact Nikki McDonald Nikki McDonald's Gallery |
Yes, the over-exposing that Kara suggests is a good idea. And experimenting with things you can find around the house or pick up very inexpensively like sheets will at least give you an idea of the direction in which you want to go and it will teach you lots about your camera at the same time :)
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