Digital Backdrops

[rab3rd]

Not sure exactly which sub forum this should be under so Ill start it here. Mods move it to the correct place if need be.

Does anyone have any practical experience with digital backdrops. I have a shoot that requires a fall colors type backdrop but I am having a bit of trouble finding one that I like and doesnt cost a small fortune.

I know these digital backdrops are used a lot but having never tried one I dont know how steep the learning curve is to making the final product realistic looking.

[crbeveri]

Originally Posted by rab3rd

Not sure exactly which sub forum this should be under so Ill start it here. Mods move it to the correct place if need be.

Does anyone have any practical experience with digital backdrops. I have a shoot that requires a fall colors type backdrop but I am having a bit of trouble finding one that I like and doesnt cost a small fortune.

I know these digital backdrops are used a lot but having never tried one I dont know how steep the learning curve is to making the final product realistic looking.

I think i saw it on a creative live talk or something on kelby training but a photog took a picture of a urban scene then took a picture of the model in a studio and then just used layers and shadowing to merge them. He called it photo merging. I'll try to find it but it didn't seem to look 2 hard with photoshop. I'd say you might be able to do something like that. I've done some simple stuff where I just did a self portrait and then changed the background. Wasn't really all that hard to do just took time to make it look like I wasn't cut out. Again I just used photoshop.

[rab3rd]

Thanks Chris. Im aware of all those techniques. I was asking more specifically about the digital backdrops used by studios and chroma key setups.

[crbeveri]

didn't know there was a difference... Now I do. So you're talking like green screens?

[rab3rd]

So nobody then? Hmmm... dang it...

[carrbowl]

I have the digital backdrops..have the green screen...just never done it. Wanted to...I've heard the hardest part is to get the skin tones from getting the green cast from the backdrop. I remember either reading about it, or watching a video?? if only the memory could kick in...??? I'll keep thinking.

[Flores]

yup, it's tricky to light a green screen stage so you don't get green tint on the edges of your subject.

Look into photokey pro if you want to simplify the work. Also, consider a chroma blue screen, if your subject doesn't have a lot of blue in it. the blue tint is a little more 'natural' on skin.

also, beware anything reflective :) otherwise it ends up looking like this:

[rab3rd]

yeah, I have read that the key to green bleed is to flag if needed and keep the talent as far away from the background as possible. At least 4 feet. Also light the green/blue screen and the talent seperately.

My real mind challenge is, can you ever create a back drop that doesnt look fake. Getting the lighting between your digiback and the shot, the shadow angles, stuff like that is of the utmost importance. stuff even slightly off will screw it all up. People may not be able to say why its fake but their minds will pick it up.

[Flores]

the software I mentioned lets you drop a shadow off the subject.

it also lets you simulate DoF on the background...

like so:



this was my first try and she was far to close to the backdrop.

the previous one she is standing on green as well, which reflected up in a bad way :(

dropping the same image onto something with some green in it doesn't hurt.

[rab3rd]

I think the lack of shadows and that super sharp seperation makes it worse for me. The second one really look pasted to my eye. Mostly around the hair. The hair to screen transition looks better in the first one. Maybe because the colors are closer together.

The shot I am considering this technique with is a full scene. Hay bails, pumpkins, kid yada. So the lack of shadows is going to be out of place.

[Flores]

took 2 minutes to hash this up... lighting needs to be matched a little better to warm up the skin to make it fit, but, the right software does the shadow, DoF on the background, and helps you resize the image to scale...

unless you also shot the background to match, it's always going to look a little off.

[rab3rd]

not bad. I will look into this software. Thanks