Studio: Black walls? White walls?....

specialman

specialman

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Pat MacInnes
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In our work studio we have white/off-white walls and ceiling so just wondering about people's thought on wall colour relevant to the size of the studio....

Here's a pic of it for reference:


Trev (set-up) by Pat MacInnes, on Flickr

It measures roughly 8x16ft (the main working area is 8x8ft at one end), is lit with strips that can be turned off and we have four Bowens Gemini 500 heads, so ample power. The ceiling is low, as you can see in the image.

Thing is, we get varied colour casts that although we've managed to get things sorted using a specific kelvin settings, there's still a cream/pink tinge that creeps in, especially in shadow areas. The only conclusion I can come to is there's too much light bouncing around and combined with reflection off non-true white surfaces (ceiling mainly), that's creating it.

Is it going to be better to paint all walls and ceilings black? The floor is vinyl so can't be changed BTW.
 
Without any question, paint the ceiling matt black.
Walls? They should be black too, but it will make the area pretty depressing both for you and visitors, so a workable option is to have it white with black drapes that can turn it black.
I'm guessing that the floor will be largely responsible for the colour cast, although of course the ceiling and walls will be contributing to it.
 
I have black muslin curtains I made across the walls so I can pull them back when not in use
 
My studio is 16ft by 12ft and my walls and ceiling are very dark grey. You need it to avoid colour casts in such confined spaces.
 
Matt black walls and ceiling, or matt black ceiling with black fabric walls which can be removed to give you white again. Soak up as much stray light as possible.
 
I am also interested in this subject, as i have some space to build a small studio. I have read the replies but just wondering why Black or at least matt Black seems to be the priority, I would have thought that white would have brought in much more light. But then again it might well cast shadows.
Any one got time to explain.

Thanks..
 
Rocket said:
I am also interested in this subject, as i have some space to build a small studio. I have read the replies but just wondering why Black or at least matt Black seems to be the priority, I would have thought that white would have brought in much more light. But then again it might well cast shadows.
Any one got time to explain.

Thanks..
Click to expand...
Easy. White reflects light and unwanted reflected light destroys lighting control - and the whole point of studio photography is to control the light.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Easy. White reflects light and unwanted reflected light destroys lighting control - and the whole point of studio photography is to control the light.
Click to expand...

Thanks Gary, of course that makes sense, while Black will obsorb unwanted light , well i think i have that right :thinking:
I was thinking if one had white walls , you could bounce the light from the walls.
 
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The trouble is white walls will bounce the light whether you want them to or not.
 
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