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Archive 2021 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)

  
 
LinuxHack3r
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


I have an upcoming studio shoot upcoming in a bit over week. Before then, I hope to be able to mess with the following and optimize it days before the shoot. I'm looking for advice as this is something I have not done before.

General Gear
5D IV or R6 (if the R6 gets here in time)
2x AD200 Pro
Various 10' x 20' Backdrops (a greenish, a reddish, a tannish)
47' Nicefoto Softbox & 27" Nicefoto Softbox
Various lightstands and tripods

The shoot will be a mix of portraits and full body shots for dancers. As an absolute fallback, I can use any of the backdrops as is without fail. What I'd really like to do is either take the green one (which is a fairy/spring light green) and make it more of a Christmas green or take the red one (which is a rusty red/black) and make it more of a Christmas red.

Or I could take the tan one, which is generally light and uniformly textured, and take it either direction.

I have a multitude of Magmod attachments and also the gel sets.

My goal is to use the 47' softbox as a key light slightly to the subject's left. What I'm contemplating is how to gel to background while avoiding the following:



  1. Having the gear in the photo (I cannot place a lightstand behind the subjects as they will be in various dance poses and moving, etc)
  2. Throwing red or green color on the subjucts themselves
  3. Creating uneven fill or creating shadows on the backdrop


I don't have the right gear to fix the strobe above the subject, although I might could make something work.

Something occurred to me that I hadn't yet considered, seeing as how using gels for this effect are typically for traditional portraits, I'm not sure I can successfully make this work. Even if sitting the gel to the side and I am able to perfectly avoid the three above issues, I will still and always will have the issue of the full body poses. Even if the background is correctly gelled, there will always be the same colored backdrop underneath where the subject is standing and it will not match the backdrop where gelled.



Nov 03, 2021 at 09:24 AM
tcphoto
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


I haven't had much luck changing the color of backdrops with bells, I try to start with the correct color. Perhaps a couple of rolls of seamless would make it easier. If you're in Nashville, I think that Citation can help you out. If not, B&H or Adorama should be able to deliver it in time. Another option is to use white and then prop the set with holiday wrapped paper and decorations.


Nov 03, 2021 at 01:18 PM
leethecam
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


As you are only aiming to tweak the colours and not replace with completely different ones...

Select the subject of the shot with PS mask feature, (its auto select object is remarkably good) and then colour adjust, or you could do the same but select the specific colour with the Hue adjustment layer.

Maybe add a little feather to the mask to help it blend.

Should take about 20-30 secs per image.



Nov 03, 2021 at 01:56 PM
LinuxHack3r
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


leethecam wrote:
As you are only aiming to tweak the colours and not replace with completely different ones...

Select the subject of the shot with PS mask feature, (its auto select object is remarkably good) and then colour adjust, or you could do the same but select the specific colour with the Hue adjustment layer.

Maybe add a little feather to the mask to help it blend.

Should take about 20-30 secs per image.


I've considered that and may experiment with it with existing images. That said, with 300+ images, that is still 2.5 hours



Nov 03, 2021 at 02:45 PM
LinuxHack3r
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


tcphoto wrote:
I haven't had much luck changing the color of backdrops with bells, I try to start with the correct color. Perhaps a couple of rolls of seamless would make it easier. If you're in Nashville, I think that Citation can help you out. If not, B&H or Adorama should be able to deliver it in time. Another option is to use white and then prop the set with holiday wrapped paper and decorations.


I think if I were doing true portraits (waist up), with substantial separation from background, changing the color with a gel would be doable. I'd love to start with the correct color, but 10' x 20' muslin isn't pocket change either. I'm slowly building a collection of them, though.



Nov 03, 2021 at 02:47 PM
rico
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


LinuxHack3r wrote:
... I will still and always will have the issue of the full body poses. Even if the background is correctly gelled, there will always be the same colored backdrop underneath where the subject is standing and it will not match the backdrop where gelled.

Gels cannot contribute to a proper incamera solution if you're shooting full body because the treatment will be different for the wall versus the feet, as you mention. Additionally, with full illumination, the cross-lighting that you need for even b/g illumination will cause multiple hard shadows cast by the dancer. Sounds like you have to pay for a paint-based treatment of the b/g if it is a wall/floor combo. Alternatively, you can form a sweep of the suitable size and desired color. These physical methods will cast the color onto the dancer which is a different kind of headache.

You might be best off using a digital b/g and living with the distasteful edge effects.



Nov 03, 2021 at 06:31 PM
mdvaden
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


About not wanting light stands in the back or middle, would this help?

https://www.amazon.com/Fotoconic-Ceiling-thread-Expansion-Photography/dp/B076VB2YYM/ref=sr_1_9?crid=3CKAVE3BVGPZ&keywords=photography+ceiling+mount&qid=1636077137&sprefix=photography+ceiling+mount%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-9

I put those on the ceiling to mount lights. For light on backdrop or hair lights.

I also use the following. to bring light in from the side sometimes. Another way to mount light with no stand on the floor.

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Photography-Monolight-Reflector-169centimeters/dp/B07234V4QV/ref=sr_1_6?crid=27XGHYB2ZLZP1&keywords=neewer+wall+mount+boom+arm&qid=1636077438&sprefix=neewer+wall+mount+boom+arm%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-6






Nov 04, 2021 at 08:55 PM
tcphoto
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


LinuxHack3r wrote:
I think if I were doing true portraits (waist up), with substantial separation from background, changing the color with a gel would be doable. I'd love to start with the correct color, but 10' x 20' muslin isn't pocket change either. I'm slowly building a collection of them, though.


Where did I mention "muslin"? I said, "seamless" because it's relatively inexpensive, versatile and reusable if you're careful.



Nov 05, 2021 at 02:15 PM
LinuxHack3r
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


tcphoto wrote:
Where did I mention "muslin"? I said, "seamless" because it's relatively inexpensive, versatile and reusable if you're careful.


Well you didn't, I did!

Any product recommendations or places to start?



Nov 05, 2021 at 02:41 PM
mdvaden
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Gel a Background? (Upcoming Shoot Advice)


LinuxHack3r wrote:
Well you didn't, I did!

Any product recommendations or places to start?


Here's another thought additional to my previous post. Seeing someone mentioned seamless paper, then 10 feet wide may not be enough for dancers. I thought your 10 x 20 sounded rather large until I read the dancer aspect. You could cut seamless and hang it sideways if you need more width for a dancer in motion.




Nov 05, 2021 at 03:02 PM





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