robert_reiss Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 What is the correct distance from the backdrop to a subject for portraits? I have a photek background in a bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueviews Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Depends on what effect you want. Is the background intended to be really in focus and is contributing to the overall look or is it going to be blurry and out of focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hal_bissinger Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 There is no such thing as a "correct distance". You put them anywhere you want depending on what you want to acheive, type of background, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_dewberry Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Six feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_reiss Posted June 20, 2003 Author Share Posted June 20, 2003 Not sure if Mr. Dewberry is being serious or not. If it's a matter of preference, that's great, I'll move on. Thanks to those who responded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_dewberry Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Serious, this distance keeps light from spilling onto bkground. 6 feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hal_bissinger Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 But what if you WANT the light to spill onto the background?? What if you are using grids or honeycombs? What if you want the background to go black? Is it still 6 feet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 Zenmaster Hal, are you going to start whacking people with sticks soon? Six feet is a general rule of thumb to keep the light fall off from showing up on the background using a fairly standard portrait lighting with the lights high and angled down. As Hal has pointed out, modify from there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_dewberry Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 Mamiya sells a DVD course on studio portrait lighting, taught by Marc Hauser. He answers all these questions, and you get to see it. Go to mamiya web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twmeyer Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 If 6 feet from the subject, (as the question was asked) then how far from the light? How big is a light that should be six feet from the background? Is the background black or white? Do I want the shadow of the subject on the background... or not? Do I want the light to spill on the background behind the shadowed side of the subject? Or not? <p>Please excuse me, but "six feet" means nothing to the question as it was asked "What is the correct distance from the backdrop to a subject for portraits?". (you may call me "Zen Master Pinhead" if you like, but "6 feet" is still a bogus answer)... t<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 To quote you: <br><br>"You relly need a minimum of 8 ft between one human subject and the background in order to fit the lights behind your subject and still get an even spread of light on the background."<br><br>In general, a good bit of space behind the subject makes the key and fill lights negligable (good old inverse square law) allowing independent control of the background. It also allows for blurring the background using DOF. Somewhat a standard approach, and like the rule of thirds, a good starting place. Nothing bogus about it.<br><br>If you keep answering questions wih questions, you're well on your way towards being a zen master. The pinhead question you will have to meditate on. <br><br>Oh, and nice shot. Did you do that in your too small shooting space? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twmeyer Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Note the presence of a specific goal and desired effect in my quoted tutorial: "...in order to fit the lights behind your subject and still get an even spread of light on the background."<p> None of these qualifiers were present in Roberts request. Maybe he (like me in the above example) doesn't want an "even spread of light on the background". Maybe he has a group of 8 people in front of that background-in-a-bag (six feet might not suffice). He might not even have a light to fit behind a subject. We only knew that he had the background in a bag.<p> Robert, it's a fluid situation. Imagine asking "how far should a light be from a subject for portraits?" <i>Any</i> two word response would be bogus.<p> The above portrait was made in his sculpture studio which was jammed full of all the crap an artist needs to make big 3d stuff, and lots of other stuff that was just in the way. He was about 2 ft off the background, hence the idea that utilized strong sidelight :^)... t<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twmeyer Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 since I've posted two (ha) many photos in this thread, let me clarify. The sculptor in the hat was 2 ft off the yellow background, in <i>his</i> studio. The painter was 2 and 8 ft off the backgrounds in <i>my</i> studio... t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now