It can be hard to get outside and shoot during the winter months with the frigid temperatures. Although... being "trapped" indoors can allow for a great opportunity to shoot photographs inside! Below is a video tutorial by Gavin Hoey, which was featured on AdoramaTV, that covers one of the best ways to photograph a still life with a clean white background. Hoey talks
about how he sets up his subject matter, his backdrop, his light source, exposure settings and more in order to create the desired photograph.
In the photograph above, notice how far away Hoey has placed the
table with objects from the backdrop. Notice what Hoey is using for a backdrop: a collapsible white/black backdrop - vs. - a hanging cloth backdrop or a paper backdrop. Let's face it, regardless of your experience with a cloth or even a paper backdrops, wrinkles, lines, odd shadows or stains are bound to appear. The collapsible backdrop helps to minimize these issues and can be purchased on B&H.com; click "here" for details.
Hoey explains that he is going to light the backdrop in order to create a seamless white scene. In order to do this, Hoey uses his external flash, a Canon Speedlite 600EX. The flash is placed on "Manual" mode and adjusts the power to be on 1/8th, a position that is a good place to begin". Hoey places his camera also on "Manual" mode and adjusts his exposure settings on his camera. Another key aspect that Hoey discusses is that he places his subject in sharp focus and makes sure that the camera is set to "Manual Focus" in order to avoid the camera trying to refocus somewhere else during the shoot.
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01. Hoey, Gavin. "Photography Tip for an Indoor Shoots." Adorama. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.