>Does anyone know how to create the "white smoothly becoming black"
>background used in photography of ceramic art pieces?
>Is it a lighting effect? Or a graduated background carboard?
>If it is a cardboard... Any ideas where one can get such a thing?
The example you listed was done with lighting. The "table" surface is
probably a white seamless paper with a strobe in a softbox or umbrella
located directly above the object. By placing the light close to the
object it allows you to use a much smaller lens opening which will allow
the background to go black (or nearly so). Just remember that the
background only needs to be 2-4 stops (depending on print or slide film)
down for it to blacken. The gradual white-to-black effect is just the
natural light falloff from a softbox.
Studio strobes have modelling lights that make this type of work easy. If
you want to do this type of work regularily, get a roll of white seamless
paper, a Softbox (I use a small 16 incher), studio strobe (I just replaced
my stolen unit with a Britek) and a flash meter.
You will also want to use a longer lens than 50mm. For photographing
3-dimensional objects in the standard "art documentation" method, you will
use a lens in the 100-150mm length which will provide a similar "wraparound
vision" as the naked eye. Besides, a longer lens will compress the
distance between the object and the background better which makes your
fade-to-black much smoother. A telephoto lens will minimize any converging
lines. (the example given, if taken with a 6x6 was probably taken with a
135mm lens)
Occasionally, I'm called upon to do product shots which must have a pure
white background. You can do this with two methods, with a
semi-transparent light sweep-table or with a roll of white seamless paper.
The sweep tables are lit from underneath with just enough light to totally
wash out the tranny, and the object is lit with an overhead softbox. Since
I don't own a sweep table, and my objects are sometimes too large or heavy
anyway (appliances, electronic equipment, bicycles, etc.), I use a large
roll of seamless paper. Position your lights for the object to be
photographed making sure that any shadows under the object are elimated
with reflectors or direct lighting. I then place a strobe behind the
object aimed at the white seamless, making sure that it is just bright
enough to fall outside the exposure latitude of the film. You must meter
for the object and OTF flash control will not work for this. Invest in a
flash meter.
Many studios have an "infinity wall" which is where the floor and wall meet
with a curve instead of a 90 degree corner. The wall and floor is usually
painted with a very light gray paint that will go white if you give it
enough light, but holds colors from gel covered lights much better. This
light gray surface will become any color you project on it.
One thing to remember out of all this nonsense, is that it doesn't matter
what color your background is, because if you give it enough light, it will
go white in your picture. Placing a strobe close to a colored background
will give you a graduated sweep from white or nearly white through the
color of the background all the way to black. This is another reason why
transparency film is more popular than print film in the advertising
business. If you want to make the background color richer, place a color
gel (of the same color as the background) on the strobe.
The best book I've come across for studio photography is "Pro Techniques of
Studio Photography" by Jerry Fruchtman. It is put out by HPBooks, ISBN
0-89586-384-7.
Ken
Kenneth E. Norton
Image66 Photography
image66@xxxxxxx
(515) 791-2306
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|