Studio wall and roof color? Problems...

[andreas_holmstr_m]

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I'm not a very experienced studio photographer,</p>

<p>However I'm currently a photography teacher, and our studio at school is producing a very flat light.<br>

Decent results can only be achieved when using one light and perhaps a reflector using a white background... Using a black background and black reflectors produces a far better light with more control.</p>

<p>Yesterday me and my students made extensive tests and we found the light to be very flat, almost "passport picture" quality, no matter what changes we made to our lighting setup...</p>

<p>I believe our problems are mainly du to the fact that the walls and ceiling of the studio are white! There's also no working drapes in black to eliminate reflection off the walls.</p>

<p>So basically we have a studio that is all white, except the floor that is a very light grey color. Lighter than medium grey I would say.</p>

<p>What are your inputs on this? Since we did get such poor results we also followed expert advice from studio books, but that didn't help...<br>

Thanks in advance.</p>

[tobiasfeltus]

<p>you are a lucky man. I have the experience but not the job.<br>

anyway, yes, i went through the same process years ago, when trying to add a second light to the scene. Ideally the whole room should be flat black, as this will bounce nothing significant. So if your studio is purely used as a photographic studio, then get some black tempera and make the room very dark.<br>

Since my studio is also my livingspace, I have had to resort to removable fabric, and have a black cloth i suspend on the ceiling, and black velvet backdrop, which does help a lot, as by killing two surfaces the diffusion struggles.<br>

the fun thing is that all of your experience in this space, with lighting, will be useless, and you shall have to learn all over again.<br>

t</p>

[andreas_holmstr_m]

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>That's what I thought... The problem being the pure white walls. The Studio is only used as a photographic studio. So it should be painted dark then. Have to try and get this pulled trough.<br>

More inputs are welcome.</p>

 

[twmeyer]

<p>The white walls may be a problem, but let me caution you against painting the studio black, especially if you have windows in the studio.</p>

<p>T Feltus has arrived at what I consider to be a better alternative... using black panels. A black studio is good for high end commercial product work, but if you are photographing a wide range of subjects (especially people), consider leaving the studio white.</p>

<p>It's much harder to create a white studio look from adding white panels in a dark room, than it is to create a black studio appearance in a white room. slight variations from panel to panel in black are much less obvious than very subtle difference in white panel values.</p>

<p>As a compromise, grey walls can be made white or black by either adding light on the walls (to make grey appear white) or increasing light on the subject (to make the grey walls appear black by comparison)... t</p>

[twmeyer]

<p>A google search showed tons of white studios, a few grey, and none that were black. Have a look at these photography studios... t</p>

<p>http://www.arooftopstudio.com/</p>

<p>http://www.camart.com/</p>

<p>http://www.suite201.com/</p>

<p>http://www.s3studiorentals.com/en/read/GM/</p>

<p>http://bostonstudio.com/studio1.htm</p>

<p>http://www.naturalexpressionsphotography.com/Photography_Studio_Space_Rental.htm</p>

[andreas_holmstr_m]

<p>Hi Guys,</p>

<p>Thanks for taking time and helping me out.</p>

<p>Yes it certainly seems like adding drapes (heavy duty fabric) in black is a better way of approaching my problem without painting the walls, witch is then difficult to reverse.<br>

Painting the roof a medium grey, and using drapes that can "wrap around" part of the studio would perhaps be the best way to go at it.<br>

Our studio is MUCH smaller than those you linked to Mr Meyer. Ours is perhaps 9m X 5m with a height of about 3,5m at the highest point.<br>

We don't use daylight in this studio. The windows are all blacked out.</p>

<p>So the results me and my students are seeing is lack of control of directed light, especially with a white background, thus reflecting even more light back to the surrounding walls and roof.<br>

The flashes themselves are older models, probably intended for medium or large format cameras, where a aperture of F8 or smaller is best, because running them at even the lightest setting requires a aperture of at-least F8.<br>

So this could add to the effect of light "bouncing" of the walls and ceiling?</p>

<p> </p>

[twmeyer]

<p>Yes it could. Your problem is not so much the white walls as it is the small dimensions of your studio. I have no magic bullet for *that* issue. </p>

<p>Also look for reflector frames that can be fitted with black, white or translucent snap/slip on panels. Some are attached to stands, some have removable legs. You'll want flexibility, and smaller movable panels have distinct and obvious advantages over walls of black curtains. A small black panel set close to the subject is almost the same (photographically) as a large black wall ten feet away, and a lot easier to come by, replace and manipulate. Also, a small black panel is easily suspended overhead (on a boom), just out of the image frame. A white ceiling can in certain circumstances, be extremely useful.</p>

<p>You might if you haven't already, invest in sheets of neutral desity gels, that can be taped or clipped inside softboxes, to help with your over powered strobes. You could also add an extra head and dump it into a black camera case, to cut your power on that channel by half (be sure to turn the modeling lamp off and don't over heat it). Good luck... t</p>

[andreas_holmstr_m]

<p>Thank you so much for your advice Tom, I really appreciate it.<br>

I've gotten some excellent suggestions for modifying the studio. And yes, the studio is very small.</p>

<p> </p>

[jim_stewart3]

<p>I dont know what light modifiers you are using but another approach is to use gridded lights. I just have a home studio at the moment (my living room) and the only way to keep control of backgrounds and prevent light bouncing around the white walls is to use gridded and snooted sources. I use gridded softboxes, reflectors and beauty dishes. </p>