How do I get a white background???

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littleboy

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Hi everyone. I run a small business selling stationary on the internet and need some help to take pictures.

I want to know how to get a good picture of something with a white background.

An example can be found here which I found while looking for a tripod for my camera.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280199193194

Obviously this picture is taken on a white canvas.

Is there some special sort of canvas available that will reflect the light from my cameras flash to create a bright white background?

The camera I'm using is nothing special, its just a canon ixos digital camera.

Any help or replies appreciated.

Thanks
 
Does your camera have white balance??
If it does, take a photo of the background and select that shot as your white balance setting. You can light the background witha a desk lamp, and use another one in front of the object to light that.
The background can be anything white, you dont really want it reflective though.
It should look quite good, but you can adjust the settings in PS after if the B/G isnt bright enough.
Hope that helps, there are more experienced togs here that maybe able to help further.
Dean
 
A quick look at the web sites makes me think that these images are "cut outs". In otherwords they've been removed from the normal background and dropped onto a white one. A fairly standard task.

If you've not got Photoshop or similar you may not get exactly what you want. However you could try using a piece of white art paper. The sort of thing you get from a hobby store such as hobby craft.

Place your subject on this and photograph it. Now as you are using a simple flash on camera set up then you may get exactly the result you see on that web page but it may be OK for what you want.
 
To get a white background in an image you need 3 stops more light on the white background than on the subject in front of it, while you, obviously, expose for the subject.
 
Thanks for all the fast replies!!!

Is it easy to remove the background from an image with photoshop?

Colour I use a white bed sheet as a back ground?

I'm not sure if my camera has that white setting, I will check tonight.

If I were to buy a cheapish photolamp and set it up firing towards a bedsheet with the item on the sheet, would this produce good results?

Once again, thanks for all the replies.
 
Personaly I wouldn't use a bed sheet unless it really has no creases in it. In fact if you are going to "extract" the subject matter from the background any colour will do.

Removing the background is easy in Photoshop.There are many ways to do it, but if you have CS3 use the quick selection tool, rather than the "magic wand".

Select the area you want to preserve, then invert the selection and then use the paint pot to drop a white background in. Alternatively having selected the area you want ( don't invert) simply drag and drop onto a new background.
 
Just use a piece of A1 paper, tape one end to the wall and the other end to a work surface, then point a desk lamp at it...
 
Dino f said:
Does your camera have white balance??
If it does, take a photo of the background and select that shot as your white balance setting. You can light the background witha a desk lamp, and use another one in front of the object to light that.
The background can be anything white, you dont really want it reflective though.
It should look quite good, but you can adjust the settings in PS after if the B/G isnt bright enough.
Hope that helps, there are more experienced togs here that maybe able to help further.
Dean
Click to expand...

Hi Dean,

I'm afraid you're confusing White Balance - which is about colour temperature – with Exposure – which is about the amount of light that is recorded. Setting the proper White Balance won't get you a white background. Setting the proper exposure (i.e. 3 stops more light on a white background than on the subject, while exposing for the latter) will get you a white background.

So, by all means, of course set a correct White Balance. It is subject to the lighting you use. So set the WB to 'Flash' if you use flash light, etc. But don't think that will get you a white background. To get a white background you need the correct relative light quantity levels: 3 stops more light on the background than on the subject. Irrespective of the colour temperature (White Balance) of the light source(s).

Have fun!
 
But you would still be advised to set the right white balance - using the measure method is fine if you have it, if not then just select the closest choice. Otherwise you could get a nice yellow background :p
The general idea is that theres too much light on your background (so your BG has its own light that doesnt shine on the subject - as such, there should be a distance between the two!) compared to your subject, so the background is blown out and therefore uniform white.
 
Hi, everyone!

Got to agree with the two posts by W Smith here - more light on the bg than the subject and expose for the subject will render the bg 'white'. (Minor detail +2 stops should be sufficient but +3 will certainly do it)

There have been some ingenious/technical suggestions here but has digi and Photoshop expertise taken us so far away from the basic principles of photography?

IF you want to cut out the subj in Photoshop the bg can be any colour incl black providing it provides a good contrast to the subj.
 
Thanks once again for all the replies.

I think I will have a go with photoshop as I do not have enough room and the correct equipment to take a decent photo.

I can download the free trial of photoshop but will this allow me to remove backgrounds?

If so, is there some sort of a guide to doing it or if not can someone tell me exactly how to do it?

Many thanks
 
If the item is small... use the corner of your bath tub ;) But make sure you give it a good clean and dry first.. and watch your flash.
 
I do live in a pretty small place, but I will try and take some pics. I just want to know about the photoshop method though as this may suit my needs better.

All replies appreciated.

Thank you
 
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