Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
I have recently got the bowens 2x500 studio kit. At the moment I shoot mainly still life and products and I am having a lot of trouble getting the surface that I am shooting on looking white. It seems to always come out a pinky grey colour. I can correct this with curves in PS but is there a way for it to come out true white? For the surface I shoot on I use white paper. Is there a technique or different surface I can use to get this 'true' white background.
Thanks 
shoot raw and use click white in a prog like Bibble. This will give white without affecting brightness.
Or get it right beforehand which is nigh on impossible
Does the 300D have a custom white balance? If it does shoot the white surface under same lighting conditions, set it as a custom white balance.
Or Fix WB for flash and see what happens with your lights?
Or buy an expodisc and use that for custom WB
Or be really flash (pardon pun) and buy a colour temperature meter...
Or shoot RAW and tweak it as you process.
You need to light the background as well as the subject. I do mainly portraiture using a white background. I need to have two lights for the background and two for the subject - I also use the white eye-dropper in levels to make it even brighter. Hope that helps a little. Sandra
Ryan,
Without sounding dead boring its all to do with lighting the subject and background.
If you light the subject the same as the back ground the whites will want to go 18% grey so you have to go with it and meter the background and light it at least twice the amount i.e. overexpose to what the meter tells you.
Sandra is right, it was all sorted pre-digital way back in photography by steam!
Good luck
Rob
Simple solution, to get a true white background light it! Use a flash to point at the background and when you take the photo the background will white out giving the look you want.
Mark
Simpler solution, get a large soft box and put that behind your subject!
The usual rule of thumb is to light the background 2 stops more than the subject. You may wish to adjust that to suit.
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
Login or Join Now
New to ePHOTOzine? Join ePHOTOzine for free!
Related Content
Join Our Free Newsletter
Awards
Current Competitions
foliopic 'Movement' Competition
1st May 2012 - 31st May 2012
This month's competition theme is 'Movement' which can be interpreted in a number of ways. You could photograph an animal running, a person walking or a car speeding...Featured e2 Photo
Featured Directory Listing
May's Photo Month
Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to unveil new photography tips, treats and techniques.
Interact
Photography Gallery Photography Forums Recent Forum Activity Members' Meetings Members' BlogsSearch ePHOTOzine
Having trouble or would like to make a suggestion? Create a report
Calibrate your monitor so you can see 16 different shades.
ePHOTOzine © 2001 - 2012 Magezine Publishing | Contact Us | Site Map | Top