high key lighting.

[john_e2]

<p>I'm using soft box from above and lighting up background with paul c buff. I can't seem to get the all around white<br>

look on background and foreground without over exposing the subject. I've included two samples to show what I mean. I've pulled the subject farther away from background to avoid spill, but that results in the white forground not being white. How do I get the foreground white without overexposing the subject? I've tried increasing the intensity of the soft box but then have to increase the intensity of the background light to keep the background white. I'm using baby fur on the foreground. </p><div></div>

[neilambrose]

<blockquote>

<p>How do I get the foreground white without overexposing the subject?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The easiest way is with two lights. One for the subject, one for the background. The background light should be 2 stops additional to the subject light if you want a pure white effect.</p>

<p>If using just one light you need to feather the light source. Direct most of it at the background, and allow the subject to fall into the feathered edge zone of the light. For additional control you can use a flag (anything you can place between subject and light) to absorb some of the light until you have a 2 stop difference.</p>

<p>In both cases you expose for the subject, not the background.</p>

[john_e2]

<p>I'm two stops hotter and I'm exposing for the subject. I can switch to two umbrella set up for the subject but wanted to use the softbox.</p>

[texxter]

<p>John, you can use a single light to create a different exposure on the subject and the background. I would use a bare bulb Alien Bee above the subject - this will hit the background as well. Now use two light modifiers. One is a diffusing surface (you may need to stack two) between the light and the subject, pretty close to the subject. Let the raw light from the bare bulb flash hit the background. Measure for the subject. This should give you at least 1 f-stop more on the background than the subject and soft diffused light on the baby. See diagram below.<br>

The difussing surface can be one of those 5-in-1 reflectors/diffusor thingies, the diffusor part, perhaps two, one on top of the other that Mom can hold.</p>

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