backdrop color

Something to keep in mind. There are times when you want a specific backdrop color, but depending on what you want out of it, you don't always have to change the actual backdrop.

Gels - in one of my previous post, gels are cheap to get. With a basic white backdrop, you can throw a gelled flash to change the color of the back ground color.

Here's one with a green gel


Here's a blue gel.


You don't even have to use a gel to change the backdrop color shade. Often, you will see off white/gray backdrop. With a white sheet/backdrop, you can manage the light fall off, which will create a shade of gray. Here's one with a plain white bed sheet.


Placing the key light, shooting through the umbrella, close to the subject, you can lower the power of the strobe. This means less light will reach the white sheet and reflect back to the camera. In the example above, I also added an accent light, a Sunpak 422D on the ground, pointing up at the sheet to give the area around Ashley's head a bit of a glow behind it.