Need help choosing Background

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Halflap

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Steve
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My sister has asked me to take some shots of my neice in her Prom Dress. She has ginger hair and a pink dress (not sure if this will make a difference).

I have:

Camera
3 Flashguns
Flashmeter
1 shootthrough umbrella
1 silver umbrella
1 white umbrella
stands
Remote Triggers
5-In-One reflector

I have also bought some PVC Pipe and joints to make up a frame to hold the background material (2m wide, 2m high)

The problem I have is what colour and what material to use for the backdrop. I do not really want to use white as I think it would take too long for me to get to a skill level to get this right.

I was thinking either black or brown. Is it best to use cloth, muslin or some sort of plastic sheet?

Also would 1 main light, reflector on opposite site to fill, One light on background (power??) and one hair light (Power??) be ok to get a decent shot. Will need to do head and shoulders, full length and maybe a couple with mum and her brother. Can I use the same lighting setup for all these or should I change it for each shot?

I want to do a good job for them and would appreciate any advice.
 
I agree that blitzed out white doesn't seem ideal for this subject.
Black would produce a very dramatic effect but without the problems most people get (but often don't see) with blitzed out white but has the same basic problem in that the background seems to be 'stuck' to the subject, destroying any sense of depth and making the shot two-dimensional.

Grey (or brown or pretty much anything else) will overcome this problem, so too will white if you have enough space. If you don't light a white background it will photograph as a shade of grey.

Any of these backgrounds may present problems for full length shots, but will be easy if you don't include the feet.

Any material will do, paper is really the best but is expensive. Muslin will be fine provided you stretch it out to remove creases etc.
 
steaming can help with materiel bgs, if you don't have a steamer use a kettle/iron

grey paper is very nice but pos ott to buy for one use
 
Why not an outdoor natural backup? You seem to have a very mobile setup
 
Why not consider hiring a studio for an hour, this will not cost you much and it will save all the speculation on your background choose. And why not do this shoot out-doors, find a suitable location locally and use natural light.
 
Garry Edwards
Thanks Garry. I did some very basic studio work about 20 years ago and vaguely remember the tutor saying that with a black background you can light it to any colour you want. Would the problems that you talk about be reduced by gelling the background light red to get a gradient light or by lowering the height of the hair light to give a rim light. Or Both?

I think I will get some clamps to stretch the background between the two vertical poles but not sure how to keep the floor crease free.

david1701
I had looked at paper rolls but I dont think the PVC tubes will take the weight even ignoring the cost.

Thanks for the tip about steaming.

EOS_JD
I had thought about using the garden but my sister says there is not a decent angle to use. I suggested going to a local park but neice is not happy to do this (too shy). Sis is also not too keen to take her out and risk ruining a £200 dress :)
 
Kemble3
Thanks for the suggestion of a studio. I had not actually thought of that option. Not sure I am ready for this at the moment. Not confident that I would be able to use it properly. Also not sure if studios would want someone without experience using their equipment. At least if I set up in my sisters house I can spend any amount of time setting up and practicing with my sister as the model (she would relish the chance to pretend to be a supermodel) and then just bring in my neice when it is set up.

As mentioned in my reply above, a location shoot is also out of the question on this occasion.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Edit: Just done a google search for studio hire local to me and found one on the industrial estate that is approx 100m from my house.
 
Halflap said:
Garry Edwards
Thanks Garry. I did some very basic studio work about 20 years ago and vaguely remember the tutor saying that with a black background you can light it to any colour you want. Would the problems that you talk about be reduced by gelling the background light red to get a gradient light or by lowering the height of the hair light to give a rim light. Or Both?

I think I will get some clamps to stretch the background between the two vertical poles but not sure how to keep the floor crease free.
Click to expand...
In theory you can light a black background to make it any colour you want - but you need a LOT of power, so for most people grey is a better option.

You can gel a background light to get an even colour of course, but ususally the best approach is just to put a bit of light (gelled or otherwise) on just a small part of the background to add interest and create a sense of depth.

Whether a hairlight can also be a rimlight or not depends on the type of light shaper you use ( a strip softbox will work, a honeycomb won't) and on its position.

Getting the creases out on the floor just requires stretching it tight and sticking it down with masking tape, which comes off without leaving any residue behind. Steaming isn't necessary.
 
Thanks Garry

I think I will see if I can get a few different colours of material (and a roll of masking tape) and have a practice . I will need to sort out the lighting so I think a trial session will be in order before I get the neice in her "posh frock"

Many thanks to all for advice
 
How about using a wall as a backdrop. Introduce a shadow for some effect.
 
Watching with interest as I am in the same position with my daughter this year.
 
a thought that just occured to me, use a brick wall, it has texture (more can be applied by using a graduation on it) and can look really cool, has to be the right kinda shot though :D
 
david1701 said:
a thought that just occured to me, use a brick wall, it has texture (more can be applied by using a graduation on it) and can look really cool, has to be the right kinda shot though :D
Click to expand...


Thanks. That may work. I think my neice would probably like the look of the harsh brick wall as a backdrop to a prom outfit but not sure my sister would appreciate it. I will try it if there is a suitable wall.

I may also try some shots in their garden. I can probably get far enough away from the back fence to throw it out of focus with my nifty fifty.

The main problem I have is that she will lose interest after a very short time. That was the idea for the inside shot as I would be able to set it up and get the lighting correct with my sister before bringing neice in for final shots. Well that and the fact that I bought a load of strobist gear over a year ago and the only use it has had is to test that it all works every so often.
 
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