Getting a clean white background

[L Stegall]

I'm working on doing some product shots for an on-line seller. Some of my backgrounds still look a bit gray (clearly, I could have put some additional light on the BG, but I had really limited space to work in, so I was hesitant to blast the background more in this instance). I think I've done what I can with the brightness levels. Any quick additional fixes for turning that background pure white without screwing up the item featured? I have LR3 and CS5 and ideally would love a solution that I can batch apply to several images at a time. Here are a few that seem to have a gray cast to the BG. Thanks so much.

PS, lose the light cord in 3 or no?

[ldelacruz]

What I do is expose the background 1 stop higher then in PhotoShop I select the white background then delete it.

[revjvegas]

On the lamp, I say yes, loose the cord.

For all of them...how about just using a levels adjustment.

Not the best example when doing it to a jpg, but on the RAW file you should get a much better result... like so:

[L Stegall]

Thanks, guys.

John, even on my awful work monitor, that looks like a lot cleaner BG. I'll take another pass through them. I was pretty much adjusting brightness to clean up the gray and then bumping up the blacks a bit to bring the subject back, but I do think the levels adjustment should quickly fix any remaining issues.

Man, I wish I'd seen these before I did this project. It would have been worth buying the 4' one. Lastolite Limited, Photography Lighting control and Collapsible Photo Reflectors. These look pretty sweet.

[danchez]

you tube has a ton of different tutorials on how to whiten the background, lots of different ways.

[MicWayWal]

Lisa,

I am assuming you are wanting to do this at exposure in the camera so you will not have any post processing work.
To get reliable, consistent results you are going to need a flash meter.
Determine your main and fill light exposure on your subject using the incident dome or flat dome just in front of the subject.
Once the proper exposure is determined then use the 'reflective' mode of the meter at your subject pointing toward the background, to determine how much light is reflecting off the background.
Adjust the background lights, reflecting off the background, until the meter reads 3 stops more light than your exposure f/stop (back with film we used 4 stops but with digital it bleeds over too much).
For example if you are shooting at f/11 then the light reflecting off the background as read from your subject, should read f/32. This makes the background pure white but will not bleed over into your product around its edges.

[L Stegall]

Thanks Mike. I was using my Sekonic meter, but I know I was not 3 stops brighter in my BG lights in all of the images, which is why some are coming off gray now. A definite lesson learned, because there is nothing worse than having to fix in post, but I knew I was going to have to do that some given the less than ideal set up due to the limited work space.

I am seriously going to consider getting one of those Lastolite illuminated backgrounds I liked earlier. They look pretty easy to set up and pop a light or two in it and get consist results in less space and effort than you need to set up a background stand and get your subject away from the BG.

[Bruce M. Morris]

Lisa, I have seen table frames, both metal construction and PVC pipe homemade versions, that then had a sheet of frosted flexible plexiglass as the working surface/backdrop. Lighted background was then accomplished by putting lightsource under the table. For smaller table top items this might work for you as well.

[L Stegall]

Bruce, thanks. Yes, there seem to be lots of options for tabletop lighting out there. But, I just couldn't resist and I did order that Lastolite illuminated BG I linked to above. It should be here today. It's a bit big to use just for tabletop , but it seems like it will be easy to set up and light consistently for lots of things.

[mmuhlenkamp]

I did a series of screen shots responding to a similar question a while back. I have to do this all the time and have gotten decently good at creating a pure white background.

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...-test-pic.html

Hope this helps.

[L Stegall]

Thanks Melissa!

[Bob_S]

Zach Arias has a nice write-up on getting white backgrounds. His is larger scale, but the principals are sound. zarias.com :: The blog of editorial photographer Zack Arias White Seamless Tutorial :: Part 1 :: Gear & Space

Here's a different setup using Zach's style. http://www.flickr.com/photos/deanpel...hy/2628254181/

[Patti Edens]

I don't know because I never shoot studio type shots, but this short Gavin Hoey video might be useful.

[picman]

The Feb 21 post on this blog has a good technique - lots of other goodies there too.
Atlanta Photographer blog

[L Stegall]

Originally Posted by picman

The Feb 21 post on this blog has a good technique - lots of other goodies there too.
Atlanta Photographer blog

Thanks for that link! Fantastic blog!!!