On the list of significant differences between novice and expert photography is the pro has learned to manage and manipulate the photography background – where the novice focuses all their consideration on the subject and typically simply lets the background happen on its own.

Have you ever been so caught up in your subject and lights and so forth that (when you check out the completed photo) you see a huge waste can – right behind your subject – spilling garbage all over the ground? In every shot? Plus you never even noticed it in the course of the photo sitting!

Or, maybe you’ve been guilty of having tree branches seeming to erupt from the model’s head, similar to antlers?

These are silly blunders which can be easily handled and will promptly boost your photography’s impact.

The bad news is we do not really become aware of how much better our images are! Let us face it; if you don’t have litter or antlers and so forth, you don’t stop to consider how significantly better your shot is…you just do not notice. Our attention only comes to bear if we overlook something and screw up (we all do once in a while).

If you’d like admiration for your creative activities, you CANNOT allow these problems into your photography. It really is a simple fix…only remember to consider the setting and all 4 corners within the viewfinder before you click on the shutter button – then you tweak accordingly.

For those who have a tough time remembering, acquire a piece of masking tape and write – in large black lettering – “CHECK THE BACKDROP”. And then stick the masking tape to the backside of the camera. It will help remind you until it turns into a habit.

You won’t ever appreciate the number of images you’ve rescued, nevertheless it’s definitely worth the effort.

The next most straightforward photography background technique – to make your subject “pop” from the photo – is to isolate them.

I am sure you’ve seen photography where the subject is in clear, sharp focus – however the backdrop is totally out of focus and is nothing but a wash of color.

That’s accomplished by manipulating the depth of field.

Depth of field establishes how much of the photo is in focus. You can find complete publications written about this area (heck, I wrote one myself!) but the simplest ways to achieve this “wash of color” technique are to:

1. Make use of the longest focal length lens you can.
2. Open it up towards the widest aperture workable – this will be the lowest f-stop number.
3. Place the backdrop as far to the rear of the subject as is workable. Or else place the subject as far in front of the background as you can.

Plainly each one of the 3 procedures has quite a few variables. By adjusting the variables presented to you, you can make your photography background as focused or de-focused as you desire. There’s no right or wrong.

Completely out of focus, moderately in focus, sharp as a tack…this is the point where your inventive eye comes into play.

When you’ve mastered your “in camera” strategies of manipulating the backgrounds, after that it’s time to consider creating some cloth backgrounds. This can give your work a pro “studio” look.

A good quality background can literally cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. So, instead of dishing out the big bucks, I like to recommend creating your own. Fortunately a photography background is straightforward to generate and can be made for pennies on the dollar.

Pay attention to your photography background and you can be shooting pro level photography almost immediately.

Post from: Digital Photography

The Photography Background – The Biggest Difference Between Pro And Beginner!

Regrettably, that would be the wrong question to ask! It in fact, isn’t the background material that provides you with the clean white you are in search of.

It’s the amount of light!

Here’s the situation…you set up a dirt free white bed sheet or a roll of white paper – and you put your subject in front of it.

You set up a light source or two and light your subject. All is looking excellent. You think you have a satisfactorily lit subject and a nice white background.

Now, you shoot the photo.

Worriedly, you hurry to the photo lab if you are shooting film or to your computer if you are shooting digital. You check the finished picture and ta daaa!

Your subject is flawlessly lit, however the background is really a dull gray color. Not the clean, pure white you saw in the viewfinder!

Seem familiar? If you’ve been having a tough time with your high key photography…And you’ve been getting that dull gray color (regardless of the materials you use) here’s the way to repair the problem!

All light has a certain drop off feature.

By that I mean the further the light is from a subject matter, the dimmer it is. As a result, that means… when you’ve got a specific amount of light striking your subject, and you are using that SAME illumination to light your background, your light is further from your background than from your subject. Consequently, it is going to be slightly dimmer by the time it gets to the background fabric.

Wow! That’s a mouthful. Simply stated…

The reason you are making that gray color is because there’s more light striking your subject than is striking the photography background.

To have your backdrop be a real, picture perfect white…merely hit it with MORE illumination than you will be using for the subject!

Seems obvious when you finally realize it, but this can be a major sticking point for a lot of shooters.

The amount of “over-exposure” that is required for the background depends upon the color of the backdrop fabric. If it is already white, you could probably get by with using enough extra illumination to have an over-exposure of roughly half an f-stop. Maybe even one full f-stop.

If the material you are starting with is gray…that’s OK as well! Merely hit it with around 2 ½ stops (give or take) more illumination than you are using for the subject.

Here’s one which will blow some minds…imagine if your photography background fabric is really a pure black piece of canvas – or black roll of paper?

It doesn’t matter! Zap it with 5, 6 or maybe even 7 additional stops worth of illumination (more than you’re using for the primary subject) and you will once again have a nice sparkling white backdrop.

This can be a BUNCH of illumination and I wouldn’t advocate starting out using a black background. When you start off closer to white initially, it is a lot less difficult. Nevertheless, take a crack at it! It’s a fun experiment and will educate you a lot with reference to light!

The point being – by way of an adequate amount of illumination, you can get a nice white photography background regardless of the type or color fabric you start with.

Need to know how to acquire a professional quality photography background for NEXT TO NOTHING? This is bound to move your photographs to the next level! Check out the above link.

Or, If you are already a pretty good shooter…do you aspire to start earning money with your camera? Check out: PartTimePhotography.com.

For some more photography background information, check out this video:

Post from: Digital Photography

How To Create A Crisp White Photography Background!

For most of us, shooting reasonable exposures is simply a matter of using our camera’s settings on autopilot and shooting away. However the one thing our camera CAN’T perform for us is to make a gorgeous, professional looking background.

That’s an enormous creative issue that separates the pros from the amateurs.

Hand painted, material backdrops can cost THOUSANDS of dollars. Significantly too much for many beginner budgets…therefore, until now, we have resigned ourselves to photographing without them and dreaming of – someday.

That someday has arrived. Part Time Photography has produced a course training all of us how to create professional class photography backdrops for pennies on the dollar! Actually, they are saying you could produce FOUR stunning backdrops for roughly the cost of shipping on just ONE of the commercially made types.

With this short, on line video course, you’ll first discover what materials are necessary and where to acquire them… You then can make your initial photography background – a blue, “Old Masters” style as well as learning multiple ways of using it for getting different effects.

Next up, you’ll create a red background – then a black one and eventually gray. They are in the favored “Old Masters” style that shooters have gravitated to for decades.

When completed (they each only take a couple of minutes to produce) – you’ll be able to roll them up, toss them in your automobile, and never be without a picture background again!

The second part shows you an easy way to create a background that is expandable and can be used on any size “set”.

The following part addresses chroma key backgrounds…their history, why you at times see a blue screen and other times a green one…and how to acquire and use your own. Again, you’ll possess your own for pennies on the dollar.

In conclusion, the course reveals methods to completely master your camera, lenses and lighting equipment so that – using the fundamental backdrops you have already learned to produce – you’ll be able to turn them into any color (and any shade of that color) background – at will, with no conjecture. It is a very advanced technique that few shooters understand. Even most professionals fall short in this area.

Striking, “Old Masters” style backgrounds are now within the financial reach of even the greenest of amateurs. When you have gone through the materials and produced your four photography backgrounds, your images will rocket to a higher level and start to actually develop into an art form and not only a recording medium.

For more information on the new photography background course, just visit: http://www.PartTimePhotography.com/PhotographyBackground.html

Post from: Digital Photography

The Photography Background – Alter YOUR Photography From Blah To TaDAA!