Exposure question

[beaconlightboy]

I have seen lots of pictures where a subject is posed with all white surrounding them. How is this possible. I have no problems getting the background to be white, but getting the floor white seems to me.. to be impossible based on the fact cameras expose for grey.

i can easily over expose the backdrop but i cannot over expose the floor because the subject is sitting on it. so how do you do it? i use photoshop now, but i would like to know how it is done with film just because im geeky.

thanks in advance

[tim]

That's an interesting question, I never thought of that! I assume it's white seamless but I don't know how they blow it out/light it evenly without spill onto the person.

[beaconlightboy]

well thats good news.. i was beginning to think i was going nuts. i would sure like to know how they do it. my white muslins turn out grey, as they should on properly exposed subjects.

anyone else!!

[arpi]

the larger the light source, the less shadows I get. I use a big and tall homemade translucent panel (about $15 total). and behind it, I put a soft box. if it is big enough, it will blast out all shadows.

[Wilt]

>>my white muslins turn out grey, as they should on properly exposed subjects<<

That's the way they turn out ordinarily. You have to take special steps to SEPARATELY LIGHT the background with a ***second light source***, which falls on the background only, and whose intensity is BRIGHTER than the main source of light falling only on the subject.

[tim]

That's the way they turn out ordinarily. You have to take special steps to SEPARATELY LIGHT the background with a ***second light source***, which falls on the background only, and whose intensity is BRIGHTER than the main source of light falling only on the subject.

I think the question asked was about how you get the paper under their feet to be blown out the same as the background is.

[Wilt]

>>I think the question asked was about how you get the paper under their feet to be blown out the same as the background is.<<

Doh, I seem to be suffering from brain deficiency today! Just re-read the thread, and yup the issue is the floor.

I'd say you need to separately light just the floor with a couple of downward facing softboxes, and depend upon the feathered falloff of light at the edges of the boxes to not add more light to the subjects, yet adding light to the floor.

[PacAce]

A strong large light source at the back to light and blowout the background and the floor would just about do the trick. Here's a shot using said background light (a 420EX with umbrella set to Group C) and a 580EX mounted on the camera with the Group C FEC set to +2 1/3.

43932

And just for funsies, I tried it on something bigger than a 1 ft. high nuckcracker. Since I didn't have the room (2 ft. distance between wall and subjects) nor the ceiling clearance (8 ft. ceiling), I couldn't get a uniform lighting on the floor. Two lights, one on each side of the subjects, would have probably been better but I just didn't have the room for it. But at least you can get an idea of how it works.

With the 2nd shot, I used an AB800 (you can see the stand it's on beside my grandson) set to 1/2 power and the 580EX set to manual at 1/64 power.

BTW, I used a quilted bed sheet so the wrinkles didn't hide very well. A flat white sheet would have worked better here.

43933

[Ray Marrero]

I read somewhere, where a photographer, having concrete floors, paints the floor white regularly. It keeps his floors pure white. Then I've heard of someone, after painting the floor, putting a clear sheet of plexi-glass on it for a crisp clean reflective effect.

[beaconlightboy]

A strong large light source at the back to light and blowout the background and the floor would just about do the trick. Here's a shot using said background light (a 420EX with umbrella set to Group C) and a 580EX mounted on the camera with the Group C FEC set to +2 1/3
43933



i think i did this quote thing right.. anyway.. i never thought of that. that's a good idea, i will give that a try tonight and let you know how it goes. thanks all.