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The title really explains my question really...
I've read enough to know that to get a white background totally whitened out is to light it a couple of stop higher than the subject. This isn't a problem with multiple lights.
Has anyone got a suggestion on how to do this with a single light, assuming use of reflectors? Of course I would still like to get a nice soft light on the subject.
I've got a single Elinchrom 500 studio flash, a large multi-surface reflector, and a white brolly I can use to reflect or shoot through. I've also got a couple of old bog standard small flashguns too. I don't really want to splash out on a second studio flash (got no money!!!), unless anyone wants to offload a faulty unit (I can wield a soldering iron 
....).
A simple way could be to put the light behind the subject, reflector in front of the subject, white wall, voila!
Has worked well for me before. Hope it does for you. :o)
EDIT: Forgot to mention, it works excellent on a corner, so you get the angled light reflected on the.. ehem, reflector... :o)
Quote: I've read enough to know that to get a white background totally whitened out is to light it a couple of stop higher than the subject.
Two stops is too much. A white background will be white if it is exposed correctly. White paper requires about a quarter to a half stop more than the subject. White cloth may need a tad more to burn out the creases. Too much light on the white background will kick back too much light and over expose the back of your subject.
took Thislast night.I used three guns in total and one was to blow out the background (white sheet).
I Was going for a High key effect so may not be the soft look you are looking for. Just experiment if your shooting digital you've got nothing to loose. I'm having great fun at the moment trying out new things
Cheers,
Andy.
Nice picture Andy. What sort of relative levels did you use for the three lights?
I can't believe I overlooked the ephotozine tutorial! I'll try and setup some of the arrangements shown.
While I'm currently using a good old film camera, which makes experimenting rather a slow process; I am picking up a compact digital soon with fully manual controls and hotshoe, so I can at least play with that hopefully. So I can use the digital (being a compact it has compromises obviously) to play with the light arrangements and get an idea of exposures, then use the film camera once I'm happy with the setup.
As an aside question; a digital camera set to the same f-stop, shutter speed and ISO as a film camera with the same ISO film. Would it be safe to assume the two would expose equally?
What we're talking about is, I suppose, your fill light.
If you're using a single light source then you are relying on the spill to illuminate the background. Fine if you have a brilliant white wall as background that's going to give you a good response. Otherwise, you might be looking at a somewhat murky affair.
My solution is to light my background with an independent ligh source placed behind the subject. In the case of my home studio it is a low-placed work light (which I picked up for a fiver!) lighting the background as they do a cyclorama in television or theatre.
Both light sources are of comparable strength so they should work to a similar meter setting.
I do have a halogen work light, so that's a possibility. I do have concerns over using it in this situation though. One is that it generates a lot of heat, and being in close proximity to the fabric it might be a bit iffy. I suppose it can be turned on only when the shots are taking place. The other issue might be colour temperature, which might be 'warmer' than the flash light. While not really a big issue, wouldn't it not end up looking a bit off white?
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