 Kari Høglund |
What should I use for background? I want to take some photos of my baby son outside on a shady day to get a neutral light. I want a plain background and wonder how I best can get a white/light background.
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Michelle Ross |
Getting a plain white background is not impossible I suppose but might be rather tricky with all the difference colors the outdoors will offer. You will need to white balance so your camera reads white as white and not 18% gray. I say this because this has been a learning curve for me recently as well. if your camera has a custom white balance this will be your best bet. You might be able to get decent results with the preset(daylight) option it will just depend on the sensitivity of your camera. You mention a "baby" son but to me that can mean Newborn to 1 year LOL. . . which what I'm meaning here is if he's really newbornish then I can see the need for a backdrop .. however. . . if he's older(sitting up perhaps) I think I would utilize the beauty of the outdoors and let it be my backdrop. . . or get a little white chair or something and get up close and kind of use it in the shot to give some neutral color. .. you will still probably want to have something to help diffuse the stray sun that might come through unless you are using buildings for your shade! Good LUck and be sure to post some pics in your gallery for us to see! :-)
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Christopher A. Vedros |
We bought a solid white and a solid black bedsheet from Walmart and some spring clamps. Get a King-sized sheet, or the largest they have. Find a fence or something to hang it from, then place your subject several feet in front of it.
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Diane Dupuis |
Yeah - what Chris said!
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Christopher A. Vedros |
There is a photo near the end of my gallery called Brothers 1 where I used this technique for a portrait of my nephews. Be sure to meter off your subject's face - either zoom in, or move close and take a reading where the viewfinder is filled with face (but don't create a shadow when doing this). Then manually set for this exposure reading. This way, the black or white background won't throw off your exposure when shooting. Good luck!
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Carrie Bassett |
I would try a place like Joann Fabric and pick up some white muslin....you can get it as low as 1.99 a yard I believe.
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Kari Høglund |
Thanks for the answers. I have tried to use fabrics as a background, but I think I have put the subject too close to the background. It just didn't turn out too good. I will try again with more distance. Thanks!
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Collette Photography |
I usually shoot wide open (f/4), this helps blur the background so that if there are folds or any tiny blemishes you wont be able to tell.That has always worked for me when I use fabric as a background. -Collette-
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