Studio lighting for white backgrounds

[954Lacko]

Hey, Gavin! Love the video! What metering method do you use in your camera? Evaluative - Partial - Spot or Center Weight? Do I have to use different metering If I use not one, but two or more light?

Thank you!

[Lincoshop]

Cool

[tamim4ever]

what's that F that shows in your light meter ?! I mean, what does F refer to ?! I also see it in Speedlight flash!

[whiteoptics]

I wonder if WhiteOptics would work for your application.

[saherkidwai]

hey gavin..amazing video..i just luved it....i have a question which i want to clear that you told us in the video to keep the reading in the camera as where the subject is...does this mean we keep the f number in the camera as the f number which came in the light meter???...thanks

[vincecreek]

Wow amazing studio work.

[alexmichael3d]

GAVIN HOEY. YOU SAVED MY LIFE ! AND EARNED ME £250! THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU ARE A GENIUS. THUMBS UP IF YOU AGREE!

[Zethux]

Gotta love Gavin and his work. The accent is just a plus.

[MYTRB]

Hi Gavin, just wondering with a slightly different scenario where you have the infinite white backdrop. You lightup the back just as in this example but would you need to light the ground where your model is standing as well or not? Will there be a visible difference in the brightness or will your lighting from softbox umbrella etc on your model also fill that in.

[multibigpop]

Gavin. Always the best source for anything pertaining to photography.

[momofthree]

Thank you! I am self-taught and simple instructions like these are such a help!

[justjared135]

pedo =p

[tardis1996]

Do you have an extra large shed for your studio? That's what it seems to be. :)

[lovemylenz]

Please help me.. I have two umbrella lights and need some advice on how to make sure the background is white. They are both continuous light with no adjuster. And my with backdrop is a white muslin. I would really appreciate any feedback. I am also on a bit of a budget right now, so can't afford to add any extras at this moment.

[lovemylenz]

Please help me.. I have two umbrella lights and need some advice on how to make sure the background is white. They are both continuous light with no adjuster. I would really appreciate any feedback. I am also on a bit of a budget right now, so can't afford to add any extras at this moment.

[tordern22]

I feel like i could do this!

[TheSalesmanIsCrazy]

Please help. What are the make and models of those lights and where can I find them? Brilliant work by the way

[KypHeM]

NEVER seen anyone shoot F11 in the studio. NEVER

[chrismallyon]

Hi Gavin, just a quick question if i may.

I am looking to do portraits at home, but my room is only 13'x13'.

Do you recon its enough?

[suck307]

@chrismallyon Yes.

[mary12rose]

Good Tutorial. Thanks.

[Nikateer]

Wheres F11 on the camera?

[SunfireGTX25]

@Nikateer ...are you serious? If you don't know what f11 means, you should not be using a camera in manual mode:P

[Nikateer]

@SunfireGTX25 I dont know n thats why I came here for help.

[mrakdot]

What's that white background made of? it kind of looks like a paper-ish material?

[iRamzess]

what camera do you use?

[BIGPIMPINUPDANYC]

What the hell happens at 2:59 ?

[pjos111]

Why is the reading in F? like F22

[SunfireGTX25]

@pjos111 F = Aperture, meaning the opening size of the shutter. The light meter was telling you the perfect opening you need with that amount of light source. So the first light (Softbox) was giving a reading of F11, which means the opening of the camera needs to be that setting. For the pure white background, you need to double the light on the background. That's why he had the light bright enough to give a reading of F22, meaning that the background would be brighter than the model herself:)

[pjos111]

@SunfireGTX25 Thanks for your reply. Its starting to make sense now.

[ChrisCrabbMagic]

i love your videos :)

[RichesAtHome]

Gavin. is there a specific reason why your studio is all light hardwood? Just curious because I think it's very cool.

Ken

[bosstjanz]

That was just I needed!!! Thank you. I am using d-lites too

[rezrocknj]

what did u use for a background?

[WESTWOODBEATS]

Nice vids keep up the good work!!!! but lmao @ the british smile @ 2:38 :D had to say it my bad :P

[marioneta213]

you are awsome many thanks, the way you explained is easy to understand

[bambatadmi]

Excellent tip.Thanks

What brand and light did you use for the background light as I need one that is not super expensive. Or can I create a setup of my own much cheaper that can give me the option of changing the intensity of light as dictated by the light meter.

I would appreciate your help in that a lot.

[jf73441]

Very informative! Thanks so much, Gavin.

[whatelsesweetie]

Thank you very much. Very informative. Many blessings.

[funkateer56]

Gavin....will you be doing a video on the Lastolite Hi-Lite backgrounds ???

[edwardolive]

nice stuff

[zoliky]

I don't have a meter reader device. How can I measure? Can I use camera to measure the f-stop? Thank you!

[keter1234]

What type of LIGHT BULBS do you use? Where do you get them. No one ever mentions this.

[cpovey1]

@keter1234 He was using studio strobes-the light bulbs are just the modeling lights, so you can see the effect, but they have no/minimal effect on the picture.

[OffRoadNorthEast]

Dear Gavin... watch your tutorials all the time and learnt alot from your tutorials when it comes to camera work... can i ask... can you do a tutorial like this but how to get a pure black background please... i seem to end up with a grey background and setting the camera to underexpose just causes poor lighting on the model. Please help. Regards Simon

[RyanTheTuber]

Can you do this with Speedlites and a white cloth? :)

[manmadha]

Thanks a lot Gavy it was so helpful. cheers...

[adamburzynski]

i know the sceinece behind it, and how 1 stop is twice the previos etc, but what thing that baffles me is this. on my camera, the lower the f number = biggerapeture or more light. so how come when people talk about lighting, the higher the f number = brighter or more light??

[miguelgaio]

Gavin I just love your tutorials, I find them extremely interesting, and I find your way of explaining things just so inspiring. Keep up the good work mate, too bad there arent any dubed versions of your clips on youtube, because I really believe it hould be very usefull to people who love photography in my country, Portugal.

[will4r]

yes i did founded useful thanks for the tip.

[chernobila]

your pictures have face overexposed if you noticed. Take a look around nose and eyes, also forhead

[kingphil1969]

I must admit to thinking this was going to be a waste of time video.....but it's not,it's actually very good and the best explanation of shooting onto a white back on youtube.

Well done. 10/10

[streetstaruk]

Thanks, very useful.

[MrDigger1969]

thank you very much Gavin your tips are brilliant you are a natural teacher.

[rubent100]

Yeah this guy is using tea bag backgrounds, not very good. also how can you light the whole bg with just one light? i have to use two tota flood lights..

[arjunsajeev]

very informative, thanks!

[himefrias]

great video..very informative :)

[1california123]

Thank you Gavin, I have a light meter I will strat try to use

[knickzi]

Great vid, thank you! Very informative.

ps- loved you as Mark Corrigan in Peep Show. :-P

[robib2]

I don't know if this is my computer or not, but isn't the background too bright?

[liamleonre4]

haha when hes speeded the vid up it was like he was a Sim XD

[anandaflima]

You are the cutest. I love listening to your tutorials.

[tpfaff6]

So the "secret" here is more light on the background than the model....

[metolius]

BG 2 stops brighter than subject, very helpful info!

[TVlesliearnelle]

glad I found your channel!

[sarahburket]

I love your tutorials!!! You are soooo helpful! I have a question though. I am looking for some budget lighting but I know nothing about lighting...do I need a constant light? a strobe light? What kiind are you using in this video? What kind do you recommend? I'm in a rut!

[ThreeDigitClothing]

Thank You!

[AugyAtarashii]

thank you, this was very useful!

[treeelee]

thanks

[global001]

Thanks Gavin your videos are great. Very informative. You are also the only guy on here to talk about using the light meter for the white background. Thanks for your help.

[m33lad]

I used to think you have to go pay a lot money 2 have this type of picture taken. But all you need is a pure white background and 2lights and a 10maga pixel camera or higher!! and you can make yourself look like you do modeling!!

But he's right, if you take pictures just a white background alone it'll look grayish white. :(

[dontxtalk]

Does anyone know how to make a white background blue? I have the blue filter, but when lighting the model, you flash out the blue of the background

[PhotoGavin]

Trial & error, but try this.

Put the blue gel over the background light and turn the power right down.

Light your model so little or no light spills onto the background (havng them stand away from the background helps).

With a white background expect to see a pastel blue colour

[dontxtalk]

Thanks for your help! I'll try

[JoeCaliforniah]

@PhotoGavin gavin, how do u solve the clipping on the edge of the hair? when u have limited space to move the subject further from the background. When i lower down the power of the back light, it gives me uneven white color, so i cant really lower down the backlight power. Any other thought? thanks!

[brucehendricks]

@PhotoGavin

You need to study Dean Collin's Chromozone system for more accurate background metering. Once you know this...there is no trial and error. You can 100% predict what you will be seeing in the finished photograph. I have not used incident metering of a background in 15 years. MUCH more accurate a system

[oceandrew]

@dontxtalk: Try using a daylight balanced fluorescent light for the background. It's cooler than the flash so with WB set for flash your background should light blue.

[kentonphotografix]

@dontxtalk

turn down the light with the blue gel on, i found that worked for me...example f10 on subject and f7.1 on back ground..if using a white background

[dongypro]

what about black backgrounds?

[IanLivesey]

Yes... I did find it useful.

Yes... it did work spot on.

Thanks for sharing, and end a lot of frustrations since Christmas.

[johnmajames1]

are the background and foreground lights continuous??

[GotemCZ]

sweet model :) Good introduction, but i would prefer much bigger softbox...

[nikonaazz]

nikon D700

[famousPhotog]

Proper technique: 1) incident reading on background 1/3 to 1/2 stop over camera setting, check for uniformity across the entire background. 2) incident reading of background bounced light onto the subject. 3) If the bounced light coming back to the subject from the flashed background exceeds the camera setting which was derived from the key light setting, it will probably cause lens flare and reduced contrast. To fix, reduce the background light until this is no longer the case.

[cansam38]

i agree with your comments. I experienced low contrast when i was in studio yesterday.  Your comments are accurate.

[FrankDoorhof]

Hi,

For pure white when measuring incident use 1/3 stop higher, for reflective use 2.5 stops.

When doing incident at 2 stops the background will throw back light on the model and act as a big reflector/lamp and you'll blow away all the fine hair details.

Hope this helps a bit.

[PhotoGavin]

Frank, that's good advice but it does depend on the type background being used. That background in the video was horrible (think big tea bag) and was binned.

I now use white vinyl which reflects more light, so I light it a lot less.

I also use Lastolite Highlites which are amazing and need a different approach again.

Bottom line... Different set ups need different lighting techniques. Check the camera as you go and learn what works for you.

[FrankDoorhof]

Hi,

That's why you should use reflective metering, that takes into account the brightness and material of the background, so you have a steady start point without any need to guess or double check.

With incident you're never ever measuring the background.

With reflective you can use whatever background you want, be it gray, white or yellow and turn it into anything brightness wise you want.

It's also great to measure shadow areas.

[jazeesalim]

i agree with u......!

[lorriehb]

This is one of the best and easiest tutorials I have found thus far. I am going to shoot a young girl soon. Thanks Gavin.

[floryka]

if I don't have the light metter how can I adjust the lights?

[abbeybinsf]

i love you gavin hoey!

[culicacha]

Again you've made my day. Thank you Gavin.

[lorriehb]

Gavin, I recently took some maternity photos and was so disappointed. You have cleared things up. Thank You

[CLCortada]

WOW I learned A LOT from such a short video! THANK YOU!

[photoman022]

your model is the sweetest! and i learned something too!

[Donatillo1961]

I went to school for this and test after test made me stupid. Watching you is a point and learn and never forget.

[fruitkids]

Gavin, your videos are so awesome! I enjoy watching all of them and learned a great deal! You explain photography in such simple and easy-to-understand manner. Please keep up the good work!

[TheMaxExpress]

oh gavin,

you really are my hero!

thanks for all the tutorials and photoshop tutorials!

GAVIN = No.1

[barryjones2003]

could you used the camera light reading for this or should you really have a light meter...

[bowie2468]

From your video. Please can you confirm : 1st turn off background light, take a meter reading from the main light, reading of f11. Turn on background light, take a reading from that. At this stage do you still keep the main light on or do you turn it off?

[teenagefucker]

it would not matter as background light is brighter than the studio light

[fmashqur]

thank you

[MrWooster5000]

Hi. I would say that 2 stops over is too much. Unless you can put your subject a good bit in front of the background, most people will find that this produces poor definition on the edge of the subject due to reflected light. The generally accepted amount of overexposure for the background is about a half to one stop.

Otherwise a very good video and quite fun to watch, Thanks Gavin

[rekez2]

thanks

[rayhaslam]

Hi Gavin ,what lighting would you recommend buying ?say for around the 500 quid mark ...

[PhotoGavin]

I prefer flash, but if that's your only two options, Flourescent has the advantage of being a lot less hot of the model.

[Laurenk19]

Would you suggest tungsten or fluorescent?

[FrostyTheBeerMan]

Hi Gavin, can you tell us what wattage your light lighting the back drop is ? , and what brand is that ? thanks very much.

[jessi330]

In the information bar it says Elinchrom D-Lite. I'd also like to know the wattage.

[PhotoGavin]

They are the 200w D-Lights

[classicalmusic03]

Lovely video, thanks for sharing !

[charlieT989]

NIce vid but terribe photo!

[puchovideo]

Are the lights set to continuous or flash?

[gogoutube]

very helpful! thanks!

[Petterikoste]

Excellent, thanks for sharing.

2 F over, easy to remember!

Could you explain how to get the opposite as well, totally black?

[EuroInvicta]

Black seems to be easier, IMHO. Just keep your subject far enough away from it so that the light ON the subject doesn't fall on the background too. Don't light the black whatsoever and it should be, well, black! Light the person, not the background for black. :)

[Petterikoste]

Probably my flashes spill over to the bg or the room is too small, , thanks..!

[guate6]

Very nice!

I don't have an expensive lighting system (I do have four Nikon SB-800s and an SU-800 wireless commander), nor do I have a light meter. Is it still possible to have these results with my equipment?

Is there a particular type/brand of light meter you might recommend? Thanks!

[putyourshadeson]

Nice vid! just one thing do. you should have used barndoors or gotten som flags for the background light! unless you were aiming for the background to be a kind of backlight/hair/fill light! just would have been nice if you mentioned it. anyways great vid dood keep it up man!

[RockyNational]

Thanks for taking the time to make the video. The video was very instructional. You Rock!

[rockwriter]

Great job man!

[robjamiesonuk]

listen to the sound of my voice...................nothin­g else matters now!

[robjamiesonuk]

thank you. was really helpful.

[9908862000]

Thank you very much Gavin. That's really helpful video. - Tiru

[JacksonTrengove6]

I think we are both using the Elincrom set, I usually set the large softbox at 45d to the backdrop, and the other softbox in front, I guess this is why I'm getting light drop off to the opposite side of the backdrop. When I set up I usually set the camera at F13 and 125. I did this by trial and error do I need a light metre like yours? The large softbox is set to 5.0 and the smaller one at the front to 1.7. I'm getting ok results, but still some editing required.

[PhotoGavin]

Yes I have several Elinchrom lights. If you only have one lamp at an angle the background will probably be a little greay on one side. You really need two lights to light a white background from the sides or hide the light behind the sitter like I did here. You don't need a light meter, it helps and looks more professional then trail & error.

[mac51r]

Hi Gavin, what was the ISO and the shutter speed ?

[PhotoGavin]

Set your camera to it's flash sync speed or below(1/200 on by Canon) and use 100 ISO for best quality images.

[kingskid96]

that was great! but I'm confused on the background light being F22? Shouldn't it be ....nevermind...I think I just figured it out in my head.. LOL! Thanks for the video!!!

[Normanskie]

Dishy model.

[aarondkeogh]

thank u so much for all of your videos

[PhotoGavin]

Thanks, I hope you've found them helpful.

[bollockmok]

what about if you use constant light on the white background, is that possible? What if you like a even more WHITE background?

Thanks

[PhotoGavin]

The principle is the same for constant (e.g. Tunsten lights).

You can't get whiter then pure white. The reason for two stops extra on the background is to iron out wrinkles, brigten dull white backgrounds and allow of light fall off at edges.

[NYCITY3]

Hiya Gavin, i have one last question, i have noticed that you have put the spotlight behind the young model, What about a adult or group shot, would i need another light instead of one and would the rule apply to the same as the one light.

Thankyou

[PhotoGavin]

For small groups and full length shots I use two lights at the side. Fit a reflector, barn door or use a black "flag" to ensure no stray light hits the models.

[PhotoGavin]

NYCITY3 I can't reply to your messages as you have your set your account to block all PM's. Sorry

[NYCITY3]

Thank you for replying back, so you measure the background light for each light on either side,is that correct?

[PhotoGavin]

I'll measure the light behind the subject. If it's a large group I'll measure the light in the centre AND at the edges,then try and position the lights to give the most even illumination. It's not always possible, and that's where a bit of Photoshop skill really helps.