Which Background have you used ??

[Neutral-Density]

Hi Guys & Guyesses ..

so I do some family / kids portrait work on a mobile basis ... ie. in their own homes or other locations which works pretty well.

Creases in my white lastolite collapsible backdrop are the issue. What white backdrop have any of you used that may prevent this ....

I see paper, but think it could be an issues on carpet for example ?
What about these high whiteness sheets I see ..

any thoughts ?
ta
Rob

PS. Often can be blown out by the lights, but increasingly difficult in smaller homes to get lights in places you want!

[bobbyz]

Check out Lasolit HiLite thread on Flash forum.

Here is the product link:

http://www.lastolite.com/hilite-backgrounds.php

[Neutral-Density]

Hi Bobby,

I've seen that one, but wasnt sure how effective it would be - it looks kinda large (depth wise, and you need the width then to get flashheads and stands next to it), and gives no floor sheet.

Have you used one ? How do you find them .. ?

cheers

Rob

[bobbyz]

Rob, I haven't used it personally but check out the HiLite thread in the flash forum. Robert (TMR) uses one and he is quite helpful, so ask him.

[Moofer]

Garage Doors !!!! these are the best, go to you local garage block and use the doors as backgrounds, they are very effective and you have lots of choices from metal to wood in various colours.

Just look at my studio site I use them all the time.

If it's raining then use a backdrop (Black or White) and light from the right handside one from the back and one from the front, set the back flash to 1/2 that of the front one.

[winterlim]

I am currently using the Lastolite 6'x7' Hilite. They are really easy to use, and especially amazing are the shadowless shots you can get from just one light fitted into it. Takes about 10 minutes to set it up, and it collapses to something small enough to fit into a sedan.

The cons about the HiLite are
- that it is extremely hard to fold back (in spite of what the website shows it to be)
- it's pretty small, so taking portraits of running kids or large family portaits are out of the question. (maybe a family of 5 max)
- you need to buy the additional vinyl attachment which attaches to the base of the HiLite to form the seamless 'white floor' in the shoot (for some odd reason, the HiLite was made with a really obvious black border stitching
- costly, but will pay itself off with some pretty nice high key portrait shots

The cons are there, but I find the HiLite to be an invaluable piece of equipment to have. The shots come out what you would expect with a pricey professional equipment.

Hope this little bit of info helps.