Balancing foreground, background

[robert_davis7]

I will preface this question with a few facts: I am not a studio

photographer. My experience is mostly natural light documentary

photogrpahy and sports photography. I have used my school's studio a

few times before graduating from the university, but problems have

plauged me. I recently bought a 550EX and 420EX to compliment my Canon

EOS 3, and I've bcome interested in controlled-lighting photography.

My favorite types of photography (for now) are portraits against a

black background, where the black is a deep, solid black. Whenever

I've tried this in the past, I keep exposing the background so that

you can see the wrinkles in the cloth or the sheet of seemless paper.

Tell me:

<p>

<p>Am I positioning the model/object too close to the background so

that shadows are apparent and the flash is exposing the background?

Should I move him or her back?

<p>Should I stop down the aperture or open it up? I'm using the camera

at it's max 1/200 sync speed.

<p>When I meter, is it possible I'm metering the black background as

well, therefore telling my strobes to light it up?

<p>

<p>I know this is a very broad question, so if you don't feel like

addressing each point, perhaps you could just share some tips you've

successfully employed in the past? Thanks a million guys and gals!<div></div>

[joe_garrick]

I'm not sure how you're metering this, but apparently it's not with an incident flash meter. Are you getting overexposed faces?

 

In any case, turn off TTL metering if that's what you're using and run the camera and lights on manual. If you don't have a flash meter, run a test roll to find out what aperatures you're going to need at a fixed set of flash to subject distances at full flash power. You can calculate most changes to this once you have an idea of the "standard" settings.

 

In the long run, you're really not going to be able to do this work effectively without owning a flash meter, unless you're willing to work with a short list of tested lighting arrangements or are willing to shoot enough test rolls to learn what aperatures you'll need in nearly every scenario.

 

You'll need about a three stop falloff from subject to background to get the deep black you're looking for. Putting your subject about 20% further from the background than from the lights should do the job if the lights are generally in front of the subject. At normal flash sync speeds (around 1/60 or more) the shutter speed isn't really relevant unless you have an awful lot of ambient light in the room. The flash provides all the light and is brief enough in duration to freeze movement.

[robert_davis7]

I appreciate the advice. No, I do not own a flash meter. I do, however, have a substitute in the form of Canon's FEL (Flash Exposure Lock) function. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the EOS line, but FEL is a sort-of flash exposure spot meter. Perhaps I can use this automated function and adjust my fill lights accordingly.

<p>

<p>I've seen ads for flash meters. I hear the Minolta meter is good, but I have to admit - it's a little pricey. Any suggestions on a good, moderately-priced flash meter?

<p>

<p>I think my main problem is distance. I certainly can't achieve anything more than a 1/2-1 stop difference at the current distance from which my subjects are placed. I'm sure my photos will improve when I move away (no pun intended) from "execution-style" portaits against a wall. :)

[blueviews]

A good rule of thumb for people is to put them at least 6 feet from the background, especially if you want the background really dark. Otherwise you will get shadows and highlights even on Duvetyne. Try moving the background back. Also, FEL is not a good substitute for a flash meter. If you are going to be doing this often get a good flash meter.

[robert_davis7]

"Duvetyne"....?

<p>

<p>Is this your background material? Sorry, I'm just not familiar with the name.

<p>

<p>Now that I think about it, I can see the downfalls of FEL. It's great for outdoors use, but I assume that when you're in a controlled environment, such as a studio, automation is a more of a boon than a benefit.

[mikecat]

You're right about getting the glass far enough away from the vertical part of the background. It doesn't have to be 6 feet away, since you are probably working at a close camera to subject distance. You will need to consult a DOF chart or calculator (of which you can find many on the web) to determine what DOF you want. From there you can get what aperture to set and that will give you an idea of how far away to put the glass to throw the baclground out of sharpness.

 

The other thing you really want to do is prevent the light from the flash reaching the background. The easiest way of doing this is to use a piece of black cardboard or foamcore and place it between the light and the background (called a gobo). You'll have to play around with the positioning so that you cut off the light where you DON'T want it, but let it fall on the subject where you DO want it. The flashes that you are using don't have modeling lights (this is where you really need them for studio work). To get the position of the gobo correct, you can get a small lamp with a reflector (like a desk lamp or one of those clip on work lights at Home Depot) and point it in the same direction at approximately the same position at the flash head. Adjust the gobo, and then turn the lamp off before taking the shot.

[robert_davis7]

Mike - Fortunately, my flashes do have the ability to fire a 1 sec. 70hz preview of the flash (modeling light) that will allow me to see where shadows will fall, etc. Unfortunately, it eats up the batteries!!

<p>

<p>Thank you for the advice. As this discussion continues, I can see the estent to which I'm limited by my equipment. Well, more accurately, I'm limited by how far I can go. Perhaps buying some dedicated studio strobes will be a future endeavor. Are Alien Bees units any good?

[joe_garrick]

I don't think there's any way to avoid the high cost of flash meters. The Minolta models have generally gotten better and more user friendly over time, but also more expensive. Even a decent used meter is going to set you back a couple of hundred. If you can cough up the cash, you might want to consider the Sekonic (sorry, I can't find the exact model number at the moment) model that includes a 1 degree spot meter along with a normal reflected light meter and incident flash meter. They're expensive (close to $400 for a good used model), but you do cover multiple needs with a single instrument if you have a use for a spot meter anyway.

 

As for the available space, you can get away with having the subject closer to the background if you can find a way to get the lights closer to the subject. It's all about ratios, not fixed distances. Gobos will also help as someone noted if you can work them into the setup. However you do it, the idea is to keep the light from reaching the background and so you can either block it directly or let it fall off on its own.

 

Sorry, but I'm completely unfamiliar with the EOS line. I stopped looking at cameras when they started making the bodies from plastic.

[skipd]

Robert, I don't think you could do any better (considering price vs performance) than the Alien Bees flash units. I have a couple of their B800's, and find them to be absolutely perfect for my purposes - tabletop through small groups of people. The continuous 5-stop turndown is extremely useful.

[beauh44]

Hi Robert, I've had really good luck with good ol' black velvet from a fabric store. That stuff really sucks up the light!! Just keep it relatively taught in the background, and unless you shine a light right on it, I don't think you'll get anything back there but good ol' black. Best wishes . . .

[scott_walton2]

To answer your question... yes, Forward, maybe and I'll explain. The background is being exposed because your letting light hit the background. Black usually soaks up alot of light but if your using paper it is harder. I say this because paper has a bit more of a reflectance factor tha material. What you need to do is to have the background further from the camera (bring the subject closer to the camera) and do what is called "feathering the lights" away from the background. You will need a 10'x25' background to really do this effectively. Instead of pointing the light right at the subject, move them so they are at at least a 45 degree angle from the subject and then move the heads at a further angle towards the camera. You will be amazed how much spill you get from umbrellas and less with softboxes. By bringing the model/product forward towards the camera, your meter will show a higher f stop. This will be exposing for the foreground say at f16 instead of the background. With f stop set at f16 (these are arbitrary numbers)no meter your background... it should be about f8 or if your lucky f5.6. This is a 2-3 stop difference and your black background will be pretty dark. If you can feather the lights even more, your background will go darker even more. When I say meter, do an incident reading where the model/product is, then step right back to the background that will be in the picture and take a reading and see what the difference is. You will be setting the camera to the reading you took where the model/product will be sitting. When I do a head and shoulder portrait, the subject is about 8 to 10' from the background. I use softboxes for greater control and softer light and I use a long lens (250mm on my RB). I hope this helps somewhat. Studio lighting is alot of fun and you will be amazed how far you can feather the light to get what you need!!!