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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Corporate portraits at speed and backdrops | |
jlafferty wrote:
If you tether in C1, look to keep the aggregate RGB readout of the background to 230-240 and it should be great. Jerry Aveniam had a blog entry years ago about Metering the reflected light from the background at the subject's back that was great. I think the rule of thumb was so long as it is no more than 1.5 stops under the Key (metered from the subject's face), you should be gold.
Edit: Hah, it's just one stop: http://blog.avenaim.com/2009/12/10/photography-lighting-white/
With respect to white backgrounds I use a rather wonderful fleece style cloth which takes light very well but doesn't bounce it back. I expose it +2/3 stop which gets it virtually 100% white. A quick tweak with a curve in C-1 (applied to all shots as a preset), and maybe a very fast extra local adjustment brush gets it there. (I can push it to 1 full stop over and have no bounce back but I like to be safe).
The Lastolite background had a very pronounced mottle effect which took me back to the 1980's. I've got another muslin with a gentle mottle effect and a quick spray with water gets the creases out very speedily, but not a background that I've fallen in love with - so hard to get a modern contemporary feel with some of these.
In the end I'm back with charcoal grey paper (cut down to 2.3m so I can fit it in the car), and a 1/4 CTB pointed at the base to give a gentle graduated quality.
Clean, modern looking with a hint of interest - and the client loves it.
(Ah, but now I've seen this lovely earthy green / brown mottle muslin... I'm feeling a love affair coming on... Note to self - must get out more).
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