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12/09/2004 01:36:37 AM · #26 |
Hmm...good ideas. Must go shopping. Hope it is windy...didn't have a camera, but once saw a guy, by himself, loading a full sheet of drywall (4x8 feet) on the roof of his car in teh twilight, rain and wind. Since water destroys drywall I wonder why he even bothered. Would have been a great Funniest Home Video entries.
Anyway, been thinking about hanging the backdrop: my idea:
Two hooks in the ceiling, like for a plant. from that hang chains (or ropes) that are attached to the black iron pipe that the cloth is then hung from. This allows for easy removal / up down (in most any room - just install hooks) and the height can be adjusted (an issue i was having with mine backdrop).
What about diffuser material? Shears, or sheets or ? I am using HOT halgen lights and need a 'softbox' type effect. Any ideas?
Message edited by author 2004-12-09 01:37:33.
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12/09/2004 01:40:10 AM · #27 |
| Once again I'm learning something new and exciting from DPCers!! |
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12/09/2004 01:54:40 AM · #28 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by bestagents:
The backdrop has to have NO color that the main item has for the color pic version. high contrast will work for the magic wand. |
This is true ... most commonly used though are blue (especially in video) and an ugly light green : )
The other hard part is making sure it is evenly-lit so it all seems the "same color" to the camera! |
Here is my first attempt at background replacement - shot one is my Conflict entry (blue posterboard background)  and into it i put a sunset shot from the back yard (cut it out, used free transform to get the size about right) and voila, here it is. 
Now take my lucky 7 entry(on a black shirt), and the same sky andyou get this image 
Tha black is more constant in color so it magic wanded much more easily. it is really just click, select inverse, Ctrl-J, and then in the other image, make it a layer, drag the the layer from the old image to the new...and there ya go.
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12/09/2004 02:19:31 AM · #29 |
After using the Magic Wand, I always check/clean up the selection, and then usually feather it 2-3 pixels before pasting the second image into it. If you save the selection it becomes a grayscale channel you can edit like any other.
In this image, I moved Kate from one side to the other side of the fountain (it was also shot on Black & White film, but that's another story entirely!).
Message edited by author 2004-12-09 02:22:23. |
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12/09/2004 02:32:11 AM · #30 |
I know about feathering, but how to adjust it (as in when..before the selction, after, etc) has not (yet) been part of my PS study/training. I must learn to remember everything all at once...walk, chew the gum, take step, chew, watch out for the banana peel, OW, bit tounge, step, chew...
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12/09/2004 02:36:43 AM · #31 |
Go to the Channels palette and make the selection visible (it will usually show up as a red or yellow overlay). If you turn off the RGB channels, you'll see the selection as a grayscale image, which you can edit with all the tools: Brush, Eraser, Smudge, etc......
If you have the RGB visible but are editing the selection channel you can make the mask fit the image quite precisely. |
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12/09/2004 03:32:20 AM · #32 |
| For black background usec crushed velvet. its expensive but the best non reflective materail I know. for any other type of background "colourscape" a british company make a wide range of affordable backgrounds |
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12/09/2004 04:44:48 AM · #33 |
| If you are hanging a backdrop on a wall, (works well in a variety of situations actually), you might want to consider using quilt/rug clips such as these, they have worked pretty well for me, I don't have the room for a backdrop frame. |
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12/09/2004 06:57:10 AM · #34 |
The suggestions here are a great help... thanks to all for sharing so willing from your experiences. I have struggled with this and usually try to set my black t-shirts or white diapers :) far enough away from the subject that any fabric lines blur, but there are so many better solutions here.
Thanks again. |
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12/09/2004 07:12:09 AM · #35 |
Originally posted by bestagents:
What about diffuser material? Shears, or sheets or ? I am using HOT halogen lights and need a 'softbox' type effect. Any ideas? |
I use Rip-Stop Nylon, again, bought inexpensively from JoAnn Fabrics. I drape it over the light tent I mentioned and have used the (very) hot cheapo halogen shop lights from home depot.
Here is a shot of our FIRST Lego League robot that I did with this light tent, rip stop nylon and Home Depot lights.
You can also just bounce these lights off walls, paper or foamboard to diffuse and reflect as well. Here is a self portrait shot I did using my old 2MP Nikon Coolpix 950 with a black velvet background and shop lights bounced off a big paper flip chart pad. Note the low catchlights in my eyes as the lights were placed low on the ground, below the camera.
Dave
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12/09/2004 07:28:59 AM · #36 |
Keep them coming in guys, this is one of the more interesting formus I've seen.
I've learned so much just reading this one, I don't think I need to go to work today.
Seriously, great info, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for starting up this forum bestagents!
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12/09/2004 08:20:21 AM · #37 |
just about any non-white wall will work ( to get black ) if your subject is far enough away, and there is minimal light on the wall.
the cat has a bright blue wall behind her - was taken at 10 am - she is lit by sunlight.
Message edited by author 2004-12-09 08:21:08.
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12/09/2004 12:00:37 PM · #38 |
Originally posted by soup:
just about any non-white wall will work ( to get black ) if your subject is far enough away, and there is minimal light on the wall.
the cat has a bright blue wall behind her - was taken at 10 am - she is lit by sunlight.
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Not with my luck..camera may be a factor, or lighting. I am using part of my basement for a studio (amongst other things) and have difficulty getting far enough back.
Bounding off hte ceiling and walls works, but not in my basement...there would be a whole lotta effort to paint it all bright white, but then at times yo might want it flat black to stop all light...tough choice there.
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12/09/2004 02:15:17 PM · #39 |
Originally posted by kiwinick:
For black background usec crushed velvet. its expensive but the best non reflective materail I know. for any other type of background "colourscape" a british company make a wide range of affordable backgrounds |
Yes....thank you for the info. Here is the link: Colourscape
Here is a US company for Lighing and Backgrounds. 14" light cube: Hmmm. I'm not very handy, might get it for 28USD.
Digital Photography Equipment and Supplies
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12/09/2004 03:19:52 PM · #40 |
Heres one I did on a roll of shiney white vinyl
About 180K ;)
Message edited by author 2004-12-09 15:21:06. |
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12/10/2004 06:20:05 PM · #41 |
Tried to go fabric shopping, not much luck a wally world.
I have however dreamed up the back drop holder:
I too a 6' pice of 1/4" PVC pipe (i had it on had) and put 2 3/8" eye screws out near the ends (one on each end). In teh ceiling i put 2 hooks, again spaced to match the pipe eyes. In a living rroom you could use plan hooks pinted to match the ceiling.
I then took a rope, tied a loop in one end and put that on the ceillng hook. the other end goes thru the eye on the pipe and back toward the ceilling, and i use a spring clothes hook to hold it at the height i want. Do the otehr side as well.
Yo now have a rod that is adjustable in height - to that i used LARGE spring clamps from home depot (again, on hand, but like $1 each) to attach my backdrop - cloth, posterboard, etc. The adjustable height means the poster board can hand AND touch a table at the same time. Or I can hang a sheet or table cloth and hoist it up to the ceiling for a standing model.
I have the hooks about 2' from the wall so i can back light the backdrop if needed (not sure if it is, but might be cool at some point)
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12/10/2004 06:39:09 PM · #42 |
for the cat photo - the wall was about 6' behind the cat. not that far, and it was also lit by the sun through a window closer to the wall.
i metered on the cats highlights, and adjusted the exposure with a quick test shot. which underexposed the wall - making it black.
with studio lights - not hitting the wall - you could acheive the same thing in a basement.
for this photo - i moved the subjects closer to the wall and had two lights about 6' to the right and left of them. ( taken after dark unfortunately ) i was aiming for a slight blue tinge to the background here. it's not a perfect photo - but was set up and taken rather quickly - i think the wall idea works. i actually considered the color of the rooms in the house in a semi-photographic sense.
EDIT>>>/
Originally posted by bestagents:
Not with my luck..camera may be a factor, or lighting. I am using part of my basement for a studio (amongst other things) and have difficulty getting far enough back.
Bounding off hte ceiling and walls works, but not in my basement...there would be a whole lotta effort to paint it all bright white, but then at times yo might want it flat black to stop all light...tough choice there. |
Message edited by author 2004-12-10 21:51:51.
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12/10/2004 06:51:06 PM · #43 |
Unfortunaely, my basement used to have a 1 car garage in it, so i have the block wall running the long way making it into 2 rooms about 14' wide and 25 feet long, less any crap i have piled in there. Part of that crap is furance, workbench, sinks, the steps...things that are bloody hard to relocate. I have moved about as much as i can with out a sledge hammer.
If push comes to shove, i have a 2 car garage that i can move my backdrop hangar to - but it is a detached garage and quite COLD right now. It is also full of crap (an old lincoln, lots of tools, bikes, tractor...working on old cars ia a hobby of mine too.)
What seems to take up the most space, photo hobby wise, is the lights.
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12/10/2004 09:25:41 PM · #44 |
Didn' see it mentioned here (many, many times before, for different stands, backdrop holders, etc.
//www.software-cinema.com/documents/tt-book.pdf
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12/14/2004 01:31:33 AM · #45 |
Great stuff there.
I got 2 sheets at walmart, full flat top sheets, $6.27 each, one black and one white. The fabric store wanted almost as much per yard, and it was only 44" wide and would need the edges hemmed...
I need to wash and iron the sheets..lotsa creases! I used the black as a backdrop, the white i hung to diffuse the lights...works well. I need another white sheet now! (2 twins I think...not as big to work with)
Now to get some 125 PVC tubing... |
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