I'm getting a backdrop kit and I'm wondering what basic colors are most useful? Initially, I was thinking black, white, and maybe maroon or red. But my girlfriend pointed out that most photographers she's used have used white and neutral gray.
Mainly just looking for 2-3 base colors to get started.
My must-have colors (going by Savage seamless color names) are Super White and Storm Grey. With those I can use gels to create other colors as necessary. Beyond that, I usually keep around short rolls of Deep Yellow, Pastel Pink, Tech Green, Crimson. If I could only have 3 colors, it'd be white, grey, black (in that order).
Thanks for the information, that looks like a good starting point. I was going with the Savage paper so that was very useful.
Looks like I'm going to go with Super White & Super Black - but I notice that there's also a Studio Gray that's ligher in color to the Storm Gray. Is the Storm Gray easier to work with or is it just a mute point?
With seamless paper I have white, black, and beige. I think I might pick up a grey one too. The beige I have actually used quite a bit. I'm not sure what you have for lighting but with gels my black (grey would be great too) roll has by far been the best bang for any buck.
I keep beige around as well...it's a better color than you might expect, tends to represent as a neutral khaki sort of color.
Studio grey is a sort of "pure" 15% grey, which is very neutral. Storm Grey is definitely a little bit darker and has a tiny bit of blue in it, which I like. I think that most caucasian skin tones pop a little better against it, but that's just a personal preference.
Also, if you are going with cloth, is it better to have a slight "mottle" or is solid a better choice? I like the solid look but it seems like most of the traditional portraiture examples I have seen use a mottled type of background. I am seriously considering getting a gray backdrop but am struggling over the mottled vis a vis non-mottled look.
Right now I have white, black and mottled darkish blue
Paper is totally (until it gets creased anyway) wrinkle free. Muslin can be wrinkle free with judicious steaming, but never as smooth as paper.
Muslin tends to be easier to shoot 'flatter' ie without specular highlights, although good paper will do the same.
Once you roll muslin, it's gonna wrinkle and require additional steaming to flatten.
Paper, once wrinkled or creased, is intended to be torn off and thrown away.
If you're going to be setting up and tearing down with any frequency and wish a solid color, non wrinkled background........go with paper.
If you've got a permanent area to leave the muslin hanging it will tend to be more resiliant and in the long run more economical.
I use white, grey and black muslin on a roller system, with the white extended all the time (and steamed wrinkle free).
When I need grey or black, I roll it out over the white. Depending on how you're throwing light at your background, the black tends not to show the wrinkles so bad.
I do keep several rolls of paper around and use them for product shots and other closeups where I don't want to see the weave in the muslin.
The role of the background is to 1) eliminate distractions, and 2) provide contrast with the center of interest. As a general rule of thumb you want the clothing to coordinate and blend with the background and the warm skin tone of the face to contrast so the face becomes the more dominant and attractive tonal area. This is very simplistic, but it shows the effect clothing and background coordination have on the overall effectiveness of a photo: http://super.nova.org/DPR/COIforTHOU/ This is a more general discussion of the topic http://super.nova.org/DPR/Backgrounds/
I have white, grey & chroma green, all on collapsable muslin, so I can pack it in the car & shoot on location easily (have never figured out how to get a 9' roll into my sedan
if I want to use a different color, I can change the white or green screen to anything I want in post
I was thinking of buying a gray seamless paper from Calumet today actually. I purchase white and Chroma Blue and Green already from the m and I am happy.
For those of you who are suggesting gels how do you use them if you're using it with a softbox or a umbrella? I have AB800 with no barn doors or holders.
Do you just tape/place the gel in front of the storbe then stick in soft box and/or use normally with an umbrella and just add the gel or no umbrella at all?
Wm. Velasquez wrote:
For those of you who are suggesting gels how do you use them if you're using it with a softbox or a umbrella? I have AB800 with no barn doors or holders.
Do you just tape/place the gel in front of the storbe then stick in soft box and/or use normally with an umbrella and just add the gel or no umbrella at all?
When I'm gelling a light that's fired into an umbrella I'll usually just take 10x10" squares of gel and tape them right over the light face.
When I'm gelling a light that's fired through a softbox, I'll either clothespin a larger sheet of gel over the entire face of the softbox, a smaller piece to the inner diffuser of the softbox, or I'll just sloppily tape the gel to the speedring/light face inside the softbox. I try to avoid the last option though, as with modeling lights on the adhesive on gaffer's tape will start to melt and leave goo everywhere.
FWIW, I use Super White and love it for all my work. However, Super White is designed with brighteners that are triggered by strobes. Super White is suggested for B&W use. YMMV. FYI!
