How to Light and Meter for a White Background

How to Light and Meter for a White Background


By Claudio Basso
Published by Sekonic


Would you like to light a white background perfectly? Claudio Basso has a great step-by-step instructional on how to get those perfect even whites.

First I will introduce my technique to achieve a perfect white background and then I will prompt you with items to watch for to avoid mistakes. The following Instructions for Use should be followed step by step in the order described. But let’s start with a diagram of the setup. Make sure you have your Sekonic meter handy; it will be of vital importance here.

1. Position a chair where the subject will be.
2. Position your camera on a tripod with the exact framing you want.
3. Position a black screen on each side of the subject. Styrofoam boards are very good for this job; otherwise you can hang some black fabric on a stand arm. Make them as close as possible to the subject but not close enough to enter your frame.
4. Set up your flashes for the background. I recommend using two heads with umbrellas on each side. You can position the bases of the stands so that they fit inside each other. One head should be about 6 feet high, the other about 3.
5. Set up your key light and decide what f-stop you wish it to be; let’s say f/8.
6. Set the background flashes so that they are about 1.5 stops higher than the key, in this case f/11.5. Take a matrix reading to make sure the light is uniform on the background. This is a five-point measurement: high and low on each side and one in the center.
7. Make adjustments until your background is evenly lit.
8. Now position yourself at the subject spot and take a meter reading, pointing towards the background. This will give you the intensity of the kickback light. You want the reading to be between 1 and 1.5 stops below your key light. So in this case it has to be not more than f/8 and preferably f/5.6 and a half.
9. Now you are ready for your test shots. Position your assistant, or your subject, on the set and first take two shots, firing all the lights. Take one full-length photo and one closeup of the face. Check your shots on the digital station.
10. Now have your subject stand on the set with legs open and arms spread away from the body with open fingers. Turn off your key light.
11. Shoot a full-length photo and a closeup, using only the back lights. This will give you a good reading of the kickback from the background. It will be easy to evaluate, as your subject is a black silhouette. If you see quite a bit of kickback you have two options:
    • Move the subject away from the background, along with the side screens.
    • Bring the side screens closer to the subject, therefore making a narrower tunnel to protect his sides.

Now let’s list what you have to watch for, and you will see the importance of having a reliable light meter like the Sekonic I use to control the lights.

• It is paramount that you control the kickback, particularly on the sides of the face, as you will use those areas to modulate your fall-off shadows.
• Make sure the background is evenly lit. Keep working on it until you achieve a good illumination. Remember to set up the flashes on the right exactly like the ones on the left or you will have changes in the illumination.
• Mark the subject position with something that can be seen easily. If the subject moves back and forth, not only will it affect the reading of your key light, but it will throw all your ratios out the window.
• Ideally, you want the background as white as possible without incurring in kickback. However, when there are space limitations, you may have to settle for a darker exposure on the background in order to avoid kickback. The result will be a slightly grayish color instead of white, but you can fix that in postproduction
• If you want the subject to be floating perfectly on white and are shooting full-length, you may have to set up a platform to elevate the subject from the floor.

I hope this short lesson was of help to you. Enjoy your shoots, and remember: be precise with your light readings. You need to control your lights!

Learn more about Claudio Basso at Renovance.tv


All text and images in this article are © Claudio Basso.

Category: How-To
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