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07/15/2006 01:36:16 AM · #1 |
I have setup a makeshift "studio" corner in my room. Basically I have these black cloths hanging up on the window and table and I want to give the effect of a pure black deep background. I also have a student lamp for a light source.
I tryed with a few different camera settings and angles with the light but I am not getting the effect I want, you can stil see the background texture.
What are some hints you could give me to make the background disappear and have a tight focus on the subject?
Like.. Where do I need to put my lightsource, what apeture should I use? A big one? how far away should the camera be from the subject, from the background?
Thanks! |
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07/15/2006 01:43:16 AM · #2 |
I'm no expert, but I've been told, and it seems to work, to have your subject as far from the cloth as possible and also to get a velvety type cloth that will absorb light better, instead of reflecting it. As far as aperture, I always take a pic at each one in and around 13 to 20 to see which is giving me the best look for whatever subject I'm shooting.
After that, the burning tool is your friend
edit to add: I'm sure someone will give you some much better advice, lol
Message edited by author 2006-07-15 01:43:55. |
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07/15/2006 01:58:54 AM · #3 |
Try and keep the subject as far forward from the background as possible and try not to let any light spill onto it!
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07/15/2006 02:07:11 AM · #4 |
Camera to object distance is chosen for composition (the closer the better for your objective of blurring the background).
move the pair out as far from backdrop as possible. This blurs the background as much as possible.
Finally, use as large an aperture as possible for your dof needs. If you are staying inside a 12' room, you will need to use f/4.0 probably.
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07/15/2006 02:17:49 AM · #5 |
One thing I've found is to be sure that your subject is well lit. If you are having to drastically expose just to get your subject metering correctly, then you will likely have to deal with the light spill on to the background. If your subject is considerably brighter than the background (use of full key light, fill light, and hair/back light setup), you will expose them well and even if the background does have some spill, it should still render as black as you will be having to drop the exposure to be sure that the subject doesn't appear too bright.
Beyond that, snoots or other light modifiers will help. This can be as simple as wrapping some cardboard around the lamp in a tube shape to ensure that the light only goes in one direction (on to the subject). You can also create your own barn doors (the single blocking method term is evading me at the moment) with cardboard or light metal as well. Could even be as simple as a friend holding something in the way of the light to ensure that it doesn't spill on to the background.
My thoughts anyway, I'll be the first to admit that I've not got alot of experience.
Edit: Totally missed the other questions. Be sure to check out Cindi's portrait lighting learning thread.. You may also glean some value from the Black's portrait tutorials or any other site that comes up from a quick google of "portrait photography tutorial" (lesson, guide, examples, etc.)
Message edited by author 2006-07-15 02:23:33. |
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07/15/2006 02:23:43 AM · #6 |
Since you're using household lights rather than strobes or even some industry hot lights you'll probably find that modifying the lights can be difficult and sometimes dangerous. You can definitely move the subject away from your background to help yourself but then to enhance the difference in the lighting on the subject and any light on the background you can use gobos to block the light off the background so that you only light the subject. A gobo can be a piece of black cloth hanging down from something and it hangs between your light source and the background but it doesn't hang between your light source and the subject so that the light can fall on the subject but you have an extra layer of protection (always a good idea) to help keep your background dark.
You "normally" use gobos between the light source and the camera lens to help you keep extraneous light out of the shot so that you can paint the image with your lighting but in this instance I think you might benefit from using any dark cloth to hang between the light source and the background and the light source and your camera so that you, in effect, direct your light only on your subject.
Good luck with this project. |
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07/17/2006 10:34:18 AM · #7 |
| Thanks for the replys, I am going to try this! |
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