Lighting background with speedlite - can I make gray into brown?

[robert_meador]

<p>I've never worked with cloth backgrounds but I have a project coming up where I think I'll need one. Thinking I'd like to get one of those sort of mottled-looking ones, and thinking maybe I could go with gray and light it to look brown, rather than buying a brown one. Can I do that? I keep thinking - "Brown gels? Do they exist? Or maybe yellow of some tone on gray will look brown?" Or am I fooling myself - just buy the brown?<br>

Whichever way I go, any recommendations on a setup that could travel well? I'm flying to this location, so something that'd fit in a duffel and not look totally trashed when I got it out, plus stands and a crossbar of some kind. Oh, and not too cheesy. Man are there some cheesy backgrounds out there...<br>

- Bob</p>

[tim_ludwig2]

<p>Bob,</p>

<p>It can be done with enough distance between subject lights and background so that they don't spill over and dilute the tones. Use a secondary lighting system for the background and you can get hundreds of shades of gels from Rosco. You can then adjust the power on the background to get the exact tonality that you want, including brown. </p>

<p>BUT, the question is why go to that extreme when it adds the lighting systemn to what you already have to fly with. Either just buy the brown or why not check your location for studios or suppliers from whom you might rent what you need, including studio space, backgrounds lights, etc. Just take your camera(s) and be free of the rest of the (very expensive to ship) other gear. Charge off the rental expenses to your client and you ares mile ahead on headaches. This kind of rental charges for a client are quite legitimate and are done all the time on commercial assignments where distance makes gear a big pain.</p>

[r_smith2]

<p>Yes Rosco makes a chocolate gel.</p>

<p>When working with gels it does not matter what color background you start with (white, gray or black) but rather how far you shift your background to black (using your exposure to control ambient light and controlling spill from your main lights....do not contaminate your background in otherwards) and then bring it back with light through your gel. You'll get your most saturated colors from a black background (reflected black as metered approx. 4 stops less than your working exposure for your subject). It is not neccessary to start with a black background but any light (ambient or spill from main) contaminating your background will wash out your gel as you start to add light through your gel.</p>

<p>Ideally you'll want 100% of the light on your background to be provided from your gelled light. This is where you'll get the most saturation as well as control of the vividness of the gel. When set up in this fashion you'll get the most saturated look (at least where you'll be able to discern the color of the gel) at about -2 stops EV between the reflected reading of your background and the incident reading (working exposure) of your subject. You'll get the most vividness of your gel (it depends on the gel) at about an even EV between the background and the subject. The more light you add either through your gel or to the background from light not supplied through gel (contaminated light) will wash out the color of the gel.</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>It's really tough to gel a gray b/g to brown and get it even and actually brown, not orange, or muddy, or...<br>

After trying it a few months back, I bought the brown seamless paper and have been much happier.<br>

As Tim Ludwig and R Smith say, the key is to keep the b/g far enough behind the subject that you can light it without spilling on the subject. Which in the real world means 8-10 feet. And a pair of lights just for the b/g that are bright enough that spill from your f/g lights don't wash them out. You won't be able to do this with a couple of speedlights.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>

 

[nathan_meador]

<p>+1 for Rosco gels, they have a multitude of colors to pick from and you should have no trouble getting it to work. I've used various colors on my gray bg with no problems.</p>