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09/23/2011 06:46:19 PM · #1 |
My AlienBees B800 flash unit arrived this week. I also ordered the 48" translucent white umbrella (with removable black cover). I'd like to set it up in my basement.
The space is open and, from wall to wall, 13 feet wide. The walls are dated creamy beige -- ugly. I'm wondering, should I paint the walls white to neutralize any reflected light? Or is black more ideal for most things, in which case I wouldn't paint at all but probably set something up with PVC and black sheets. (Can't make a case to the missus to paint the walls black.)
Also, the ceiling is 7 feet high and white. A problem?
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09/23/2011 07:13:09 PM · #2 |
| you're going to get frustrated with the low ceiling i think. in my studio they are about 8 ft tall and i wish they were higher, but sometimes you just gotta make do |
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09/23/2011 07:14:31 PM · #3 |
| A neutral gray works nicely. Most of the studios I've been around are painted a medium gray...almost like a gray card gray. |
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09/23/2011 09:51:35 PM · #4 |
Congrats, Brian! I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can do in a studio!
I use PVC backdrop rolls (one black, one white) and I love them. I agree that the low ceiling is going to frustrate you, but you can shoot downward slightly (i.e. off a stepstool) and get some nice effects without getting the ceiling in the shot.
if you're going to shoot with black background, the bounce off the ceiling might be helpful in getting some separation. 13 feet seems wide enough for the walls to not have too much impact on your lighting (I shot Great Dames on the black backdrop, next to an undressed window, with indirect daylight, white ceiling). But if it does, buy a set of cheap black sheets to hang when you're shooting. It's easy and temporary.
Good luck, and show us stuff!! |
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09/23/2011 09:54:43 PM · #5 |
The studio folks can comment with more authority, but I would go with a neutral gray. Flat finish. Creamy beige may work. Make some test portraits to get an idea about the reflected light, if any, that creeps in to the image.
7 feet is rough, the room I use at home is close 8 feet, and I find it cramped for adults, but it works just fine. This particular room is a flat earth tone, and I cover a window with a black drop if I'm not using it for light. Use the white ceiling as a reflector. |
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09/24/2011 12:06:16 AM · #6 |
I've used two studios now that have a nifty "trick": White walls and track mounted floor to ceiling black curtains. If you want some fill bounce from the sides, no curtains. If you want black on the sides, pull the curtains. If you want more bounce onto the backdrop, but no side reflections on your subject, leave the walls adjacent to the backdrop uncovered, but pull a section of curtain along the track to be next to your subject. And each side can be set up differently. If you don't want to paint the walls, you can use black and white curtains. For 7 ft ceilings, you can probably get close enough with some dirt cheap curtains at target. And you don't have to go the rails or rod way, but just some hooks on the walls or even just nails. Some metal grommets added to the fabric, and you can change them out quickly, and hang other things as needed, too.
The 7 ft white ceiling will either be a blessing or a curse, depending on how and what you shoot. I might consider getting some of those really smalll, white screw in hooks and put some grommets in a black fabric. You can install it up there when you don't want the bounce, take it down when you do.
Keep in mind when using your umbrella in shoot thru configuration that you lose a stop or two thru the material, while the bounced light out the back blasts the walls pretty good. The further the tip of the shoot thru is away from your subject, the more dominant the bounce off the walls could be. I learned this the hard way when shooting in my living room (also with beige walls), and found that the "japanese lantern" style shoot thru umbrellas help a lot in this situation. If you get a white PLM from Paul Buff, they have an add on black cover option that closes off the open end.
Is the room a 13 foot square room? If you paint one wall white, you can control how white/bright it is by lighting and postioning your subject closer or further away from it. You can get a nice deep feeling soft background by backing away. You could paint an opposite wall (if the room is narrow) gray, and use that to go from light gray to nearly black in the same manner. And a grey wall is easier to throw color onto with gels.
Basically, as an initial step, I would consider the beige walls a "must fix" because you will almost certainly encounter situations where they cause problems. White walls with some cheap black covers (via curtains or hung on hooks/nails, etc.) would give you options to use the walls in different ways, rather than just trying to work around them all the time.
Another option is the cheap white panels at the hardware store (Home Depot, Lowes) They are called White Utility Panels or other similar names, and go for $5-$13. I would consider these mandatory for any studio (I've never been in a studio that did not have some): place them on the floor in front of (and on top of) your seamless paper. They have enough gloss to them to provide a nice reflection, and can even "pick up" the color of a background depending on your shooting angle. I've used them to create a white corner: two up against the walls in the corner, then another to fit in the corner on the floor. You can lean them against walls, clamp them to light stands, and are very generally useful.
I took a grey card into the hardware store and got them to mix me a paint to match once, when I was helping to set up a studio. Paint is cheap, and an easy way to overhaul a wall even for a temporary need. And  tanguera's pvc backdrop suggestion is a good one--I have long since filed that away for the day when I set up my own studio.
CONGRATS on your studio space!
Message edited by author 2011-09-24 00:31:26. |
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09/24/2011 11:28:49 AM · #7 |
Thank you all -- chromey, for the extensive thoughts.
To answer a few questions, the room is forty feet long, but all of that space isn't available. I have a baby grand on the far end, my computer desk, and other stuff scattered about. Still, I can get the camera a good distance from my subject as needed.
About the walls, I don't want to paint if I don't have to, but it's not out of the question, and the whole place probably needs a makeover anyway. During the Calendar challenge, I posted this as a gag. I used my on-camera flash, and you can see the color of the walls to get an idea.
Message edited by author 2011-09-24 11:29:41. |
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09/24/2011 12:16:36 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by bvy:
Thank you all -- chromey, for the extensive thoughts.
To answer a few questions, the room is forty feet long, but all of that space isn't available. I have a baby grand on the far end, my computer desk, and other stuff scattered about. Still, I can get the camera a good distance from my subject as needed.
About the walls, I don't want to paint if I don't have to, but it's not out of the question, and the whole place probably needs a makeover anyway. During the Calendar challenge, I posted this as a gag. I used my on-camera flash, and you can see the color of the walls to get an idea.
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I'd paint the walls white or a neutral gray. I think you're going to get a weird color cast if you mix other lighting with any reflected light from those walls.
I normally use a WhiBal card or my ColorChecker Passport when shooting inside which would help so that's something to consider as well.
Dave |
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09/26/2011 12:34:13 PM · #9 |
Thanks Dave, everyone. Looks like I'm going to be painting -- probably white.
If the seven foot ceiling were black, is the problem of the low ceiling then reduced to a practical one related to posing my subjects and composing the shot? Obviously I won't be shooting basketball players down here no matter what color the ceiling is. But a model on a stool? Or children? |
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11/27/2011 10:07:31 PM · #10 |
Okay! I've painted the space WHITE! I've tacked black fabric to the ceiling (for now -- may still paint it). Still have the burlap colored carpet, but hopefully I can work with it.
I think I need a backdrop, preferably black (I liked some of the ideas posted here previously). But I might try to use the white area between the windows as a neutral background for now.
What would be a good starting arrangement/position for the umbrella? I'd like some head and shoulder portraits of my boys -- maybe upper body shots with them seated (the red milk can is my stool). Umbrella up close? Far away for harder more dramatic lighting? To the side and pointing downward? I'm trying not to light or cast shadows on my backdrop...
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