Schools Photography Backdrops.

roglowe

roglowe

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Roger Lowe
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What is the most common backdrop colour for schools photography?

I ask this as a few parents at my daughters school asked me to re-shoot their child's school photos in my studio as the official schools photographer used a white back drop and they did not like it.
I Used a light Blue washy BG for the re-shoot and the parents love them. Cool!
This blue BG seemed to compliment the children in their uniforms far more than the white did in the original schools photo.

So what do others think of a white BG for schools photography? Any school shooters using white on this forum?

I'd be interested to know.

Roger
 
White is the current fashion. Also small groups photographed and then arranged to make a single print is also very fashionable.

I prefer the white background.

The blue is very traditional

Sent from my HTC Desire using TP Forums
 
Ahh - one of the great problems...

If you have a number of children at a school you usually want the same background for all of them - and some people hate the "old fashioned" blue splodge - and some love them - and the same is said for the white.....

In an ideal world shoot greenscreen - then let the customer choose.... ;-)
 
I work in a school and out of the three companies that come in, two had green screen and add what ever backdrop the school wants and the other has a bookcase backdrop
 
I can't imagine the post production work after shooting green.
I know the white is hip. I use white in my studio for family portraits.
I prefer the Blue to the White for the schools, but I guess the photographer would offer a few BG colours and the school would choose which to go for.
The ones I saw were not that good. The light reflecting off the white BG was glowing off the back of the kids head and shoulders.
 
roglowe said:
I can't imagine the post production work after shooting green.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not it's literally none! The software handles it all. I saw this in action last year and was very impressed.

roglowe said:
I know the white is hip. I use white in my studio for family portraits.
I prefer the Blue to the White for the schools, but I guess the photographer would offer a few BG colours and the school would choose which to go for.
The ones I saw were not that good. The light reflecting off the white BG was glowing off the back of the kids head and shoulders.
Click to expand...

Yes it's more likely the photographer wasn't using the lighting properly from what you say.

My nursery asked if I could use something different this year but it's difficult to offer everyone something they - some like white others blue some brown...... so the parents voted and I was happy that white won as it's fairly simple to deal with.
 
Spill the beans then. What software takes a whole stack of images and replaces the background? Or is it a one by one job. That would take ages.
Green screen is great fun with video. I use it for video interviews and sometimes for fun with my daughter.
 
Can't remember but someone here will know it. THey showed it at Photovision last year. Had a girl in a Bikini shot against a greenscreen. Guy took the image and seconds later the print appeared with her against a beech scene!!

He did others too! Took a shot of a guy and the print had him in Old Trafford lol
 
There are only 2 that are any good for portraits with high end quality.
All others, the well known ones are ok for Events etc.......

What were the Companies Tom? Yellow are doing it, who was the other firm?

This is my 3rd year of offering it. White is least popular when parents are given the choice.
 
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I have now had another parent asking me to re-shoot. Apparently the school chose the wight BG for their shoot. I wonder if it's the parents choice or the school's secretary choice? I bet the parents was not even asked.
I might have a word with the school.
 
EOS_JD said:
Can't remember but someone here will know it. THey showed it at Photovision last year. Had a girl in a Bikini shot against a greenscreen. Guy took the image and seconds later the print appeared with her against a beech scene!!

He did others too! Took a shot of a guy and the print had him in Old Trafford lol
Click to expand...

I think the software you saw at Photovision would have been Photokey 4 Pro which is available from Creativity Backgrounds.
There's also a discounted bundle with a roll of chroma green background paper.
http://www.photography-backgrounds.co.uk/photography_software.html

The PRO version of Photokey has the automated batch processing you are talking about.

Hope this helps.

Ian
 
Back in the distant past when I was a pupil, we didn't have individual (or even small groups) photos taken against a background - it was the whole school (or house) against the school building.
 
Daryl said:
We do chroma key and white.QUOTE]

Is the Photokey 4 Pro what you use Daryl?

I'll be very interested in your course next year by the way.

Dean
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks for your reply Daryl. I'll have a look into that.
 
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