How To Shoot A White Photography Background

July 11, 2010 · Filed Under General

I am regularly asked – by annoyed photographers – what materials they ought to be using to generate a crisp, spotless, pure white photography background.

Regrettably, that often is the incorrect question to ask! It in fact, is not the backdrop material that gives you the spotless white that you are looking for.

It is really the amount of light!

Here is the situation…you set up a spotless white bed sheet or a piece of white paper – and you situate your model in front of it.

You set up a light source or – even more than one, and light your model. All is looking good. You think you will have a properly lit subject and a nice white set.

Next, you take the photo.

Apprehensively, you sprint to the photo lab if you are shooting film or to a computer if you are shooting digital. You see the finished photo and ta daaa!

Your subject is impeccably lit, but the backdrop is a dingy gray color. Not the sterile, pure white you saw inside the viewfinder!

Seem familiar? If you have been having a tough time getting high key photography…And you’ve been creating that dull gray color (no matter what materials you utilize) here is the way to fix the problem!

All light has a certain drop off issue.

By that I mean that the further away the light is from a subject, the less bright it appears. Consequently, meaning… when you have a certain amount of light striking your subject, and you’re using that SAME illumination to light your backdrop, your light is further away from your backdrop than from the model. Therefore, it will be slightly less bright when it gets to the background material.

Whew! That is a tongue twister. Simply stated…

The main reason you are making that gray color is because there is more light hitting your subject than is hitting the photography background.

To have your backdrop be an untainted, seamless white…just hit it with MORE light than you will be using for your model!

Seems obvious as soon as you understand it, but this is a huge sticking point for many photographers.

The total amount of “over-exposure” you will need on the backdrop depends upon the color of the background fabric. If it is already white, you could get by with using adequate extra illumination to have an over-exposure around half an f-stop. Perhaps even one full f-stop.

If the material you’re starting with is gray…that’s okay as well! Just strike it with about 2 ½ stops (give or take) more illumination than you will be using for the subject.

Here is one that could blow a large number of minds…what if your photography background stuff is really a pure black piece of material – or black paper?

It doesn’t matter! Zap it with 5, 6 or possibly even 7 additional stops worth of light (more than you’re using for the primary model) and you will again have a pleasant spotless white backdrop.

This is a LOT of light and I would not propose starting out with a black background. If you start closer to white at first, it is a lot easier. However, attempt it! It’s a amusing experiment and can educate you quite a bit on the subject of light!

The point is – by way of sufficient light, you can achieve a nice white photography background regardless of the type or color substance you start with.

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