Do It Yourself

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Regrettably, that is the inappropriate question to pose! It in actuality, isn’t the backdrop material that provides you with the spotless white that you are seeking.

It is really the source of the light!

Here’s the situation…you set up a spotless white bed sheet or a roll of white paper – and you situate your subject in front of it.

You set up a light source or – even more than one, and light your subject. All is appearing fine. You think you have got a skillfully lit subject and a pleasant white backdrop.

Now, you shoot the picture.

Nervously, you sprint to the photo lab if you are shooting film or to a computer if you are shooting digital. You see the finished photograph and ta daaa!

Your subject is impeccably lit, however the backdrop is usually a dull gray color. Not the sparkling, pure white you saw inside the viewfinder!

Sound typical? If you have been having a difficult time making high key photos…And you have been getting that dingy gray color (no matter what materials you utilize) here is the way to fix the situation!

All light has a certain drop off issue.

By that I mean the further away the light is from a subject, the less bright it is. Therefore, meaning… when you’ve got a certain quantity of light hitting your subject, and you are using that SAME light to light your backdrop, your light is further away from your backdrop than from your subject. For that reason, it is going to be somewhat less bright by the time it gets to your backdrop fabric.

Wow! That’s a tongue twister. Simply stated…

The main reason you are getting that gray color is because there’s more light hitting your subject than is hitting the photography background.

To get your backdrop be a genuine, seamless white…simply hit it with MORE light than you will be using for the subject!

Seems obvious as soon as you comprehend it, but this is a huge sticking point for many photographers.

The total amount of “over-exposure” you require for the backdrop is dependent upon the color of the backdrop fabric. If it is already white, you could probably get by with using an adequate amount of added light to have an over-exposure of roughly half an f-stop. Maybe even one full f-stop.

If the material you are starting with is gray…that’s OK as well! Just hit it with roughly 2 ½ stops (give or take) more illumination than you might be using for the subject.

Here’s one that will blow some minds…imagine if your photography background stuff is actually a pure black piece of canvas – or black paper?

It does not make any difference! Zap it with 5, 6 or maybe even 7 additional stops worth of light (over what you happen to be using for the primary subject) and you’ll again have a pleasant sterile white setting.

This is a LOT of light and I wouldn’t suggest starting out using a black backdrop. When you begin nearer to white in the beginning, it’s a lot simpler and easier. But, attempt it! It is a fun experiment and can teach you quite a bit with reference to light!

The point being – by means of enough light, you can get a pleasant white photography background no matter what type or color fabric you begin with.

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For some more photography background information, check out this video:

Do It Yourself Info by www.BestDoItYourSelf.Info