White studio backdrop

[aruffell]

I'm getting sick of trying different things and failing at it.

Basically i bought a light tent and placed objects into it with some halogen work lamps and the shots came out ok but not fantastic.

I'm wanting to take pictures of items on a white background and have them come out like professional photos like you see in catalogues (clear crisp white background)

I've also tried using a blind as a backdrop but that doesn't work fantastically either.

I've used the above lights (halogen work lamps) which i got from Screwfix Direct and the bulbs blew after using them twice and i've also tried natural lighting as a few people i have spoken to said that they put their backdrop by a window and get brilliant lighting from it but i can't get the same effect.

I'm mainly going to be using a Sony HC35e camcorder and recording video of the items in question and taking a few high quality shots on a Nikon D40 SLR camera.

What is the best thing for me to use as a backdrop and lighting for as little money as possible.

Thanks,

Andy

[sfaust]

White seamless paper and lighting it correctly are all that is needed. Its technique more than anything else, and there are many tutorials on the internet that go through the basics of how to do it.

Here is what you will need, which you seem to already have.
2 lights (strobes preferred, but you can use what you have)
white seamless background (about $30)

Then learn how to set the white balance manually, and test and calibrate it to your workflow. Ie, get it as close as possible in camera, bring in a test image, neutralize the white balance in photoshop and note the difference, adjust your cameras white balance again and re-test. Once you nail this down, you can use that same setting anytime you shoot with this setup.

Do the same with the exposure. Use manual mode on your camera. An external incident meter will help you, but you can use your in-camera meter if needed. Set your exposure, fire off a test shot, and check your histogram if you are using your camera. You want to expose so the background is pure white, but not blown out or loosing detail. If you use an incident meter, your exposure will most likely be spot on for the first shot.

If using your cameras meter, bring in the test shot into photoshop or lightroom and look at the image checking the values across the images. They should all be in the 240-255 range. If not, adjust the aperture and take another test shot and re-check. Try to get the same values across the entire white seamless, and adjust the position and intensity of the lights as needed.

Once you have the above done, you can bring in your items to be shot, and for most items the exposure should give you a white background with correct exposures on the object and look pretty decent.

if you want the more professional results, you'll need to add or subtract light for each object to really make the image stand out and pop. Also, reflections will need to be handled on some objects as well. Glass and other translucent objects will also need to be dealt with differently. All these techniques can be learned by researching product photography lighting techniques on the internet, buying books such as LIght Science and Magic, and so on. If you really want professional results, and not just objects correctly exposed on white under flat light, its going to take time and structured practice.

And finally, there is a lot done in photoshop to clean up the objects, enhance or reduce highlights, shadows, reflections, etc. There are so many subtle things done to a really nice product on white that goes beyond two softboxes and an evenly lit seamless.

Hopefully, this will give you a good starting direction.

[aruffell]

What about the camcorder though as i have no white balance settings on there and can't edit video in photoshop.

Andy

[sfaust]

Most camcorders have the ability to adjust the white balance. Sometimes its called 'sunny', 'overcast', 'indoors', etc. Those are pre-set white balance settings. You'd need to adjust them to get the closest results. In your case, indoors would be the appropriate setting since it sounds like you are using tungsten lighting. For exposure, again look for a manual mode to adjust the aperture of the camcorder. If there is no manual mode, look for a backlight button, or an exposure compensation feature.

If you don't have manual overrides, you are at the mercy of your camcorder. There are ways to fool cameras, but its harder with camcorders since all the adjustments are in real time for each frame.

Yes, you can't edit video in Photoshop, but you can in your video editor. In all good editing software, there are ways to read the values for a frame, which will give you the same information as you would get from Photoshop. But, without manual overrides on your camera to do something about it, it doesn't do you much good to know it off but can't adjust it.

[aruffell]

I've just been looking at a green screen chroma key, would this be better to use and then change the value to pure white?

I've found a green screen very cheap.

Andy

[sjlund]

I don't know what manual controls you have on your video camera, but I think you're going to have trouble there. I would guess that the camera will try to darken your white background, no matter how bright you get it. Pure white isn't the exposure your camera is trying to achieve, so it's going to darken it, thinking that's what you want.

[sfaust]

No, chroma screen is the wrong way to go. Unless you want to spend endless time fixing green reflections and color casts off your objects, stick with white. Any reflections or highlights reflected off the white seamless will be neutral in color and appear as a highlight. If you used green, you would have green color casts all over your object that will need to be dealt with.

As a general rule, I always use the same color seamless as what the background will eventually be. If you were going to drop the object on a green background or graphic, then using a green seamless might be a viable option. If you're not sure what color it will be dropped on, use white.

[mritchy]

I know this might sound completely ridiculous, and I will admit, but I was visiting another city the other weekend and a company asked me to photograph their candy product line for their website. I had some of my things (camera, lenses, lights) but I left my backdrop at home. I went to the store and bought an Elmer's trifold high quality foam core board, angled the flourescents from either side and set the flash. The flash got rid of the crease in the board and minor editing removed a glare if there was one.

Just a thought!

[aruffell]

Well im back and still trying.

I thought i'd try a green screen because i can't find anywhere that sells white seamless paper that is wide enough.

My setup is attached.

I'm now currently using a FinePix S5600 to capture video 640x480 and the quality is good, just need a white background.

Am using Sony Vegas to edit and now how to chromakey but i cant get the bloomin lighting right.

Using 2 500watt flurescent floodlamps.

Andy

[aruffell]

Looking at this now - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PHOTOVINYL-White-vinyl-photographic-background_W0QQitemZ220434525224QQcmdZViewItemQQpt ZUK_Photography_StudioEquipment_RL?hash=item3352eb ec28&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1690%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Good choice?

Andy

[aruffell]

Anyone?

Andy

[MR do little]

For smaller items get your self a Colorama/Lastolite colorgloss/colormatt superwhite sheet they are 100x130cm.

As for the lightning its not much to work with, put one on the curved bg, and one on the product. For larger items it will be far from ideal... best of luck.

If you have a friend who got a pair of speedlights, borrow them.. :-)