My attempt at White Seamless Background

[evader]

I have been wanting to try the white seamless background look for a while and have finally had a chance to give it a try. Set everything up in my living room so space was pretty tight.

The backdrop is just a white bed sheet (plan on getting a roll of white seamless paper sometime soon). I have my SB-600 set at full power on the backdrop and another light (one of those dish light kind of lights with the 3 spiral bulbs) camera right focused on the kids. Shot using D60 and the 18-55 kit lens.
I plan on purchasing another SB-600 for myself for Christmas...is that a good choice in regards to another flash or is there something else I should look at as well?



Nikon D60
Shutter: 1/160
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 400

You can see my other attempts at white seamless shots here. Seamless - a set on Flickr

Just wondering if I'm on the right track in regards to shooting seamless? What should/could I do differently?
Any suggestions, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[evader]

46 views...anyone have any comments on if I'm going in the right direction shooting on seamless background? Any tips or suggestions?

[royey123]

I like it - especially as a parent!!

[sheila3]

Setting up a in home studio, extra lights, backgrounds....all of that is way beyond my knowledge at this point. But just as a Mom and consumer I think its a great shot. Never would have suspected that it was just a sheet back there. Nice job

[Photosbyus]

Well excuted.

[carlyfan]

I think the white background looks good and very seamless. It looks really bright though. The brighness is sort of creeping in on their hair and blowing out the edges. I don't know if this was something you were going for. I really don't know anything about artificial light or studio setups either, so I don't have any advice on how this could be done better. I just thought it looked kind of funny, so I though I would point this out rather than not say anything.
I know this doesn't have to do with the background, but I noticed that you left a lot of room above their heads, putting their faces in the center of the frame. It might work better to have less dead space up top.

I do like the pose though, and they seem to be relaxed and have natural smiles. Cute picture!

Lisa

[MR Dominic Camilleri]

The seamless backrounnd & a touch over lit ,but i would have perferd a landscape shoot instead of portrait shoot ,so the whole shoulders we be included also in the shoot .try keeping the heads apart to ,so the white backrounnd is seen to .

[MrJones]

it feels like you're putting all of your efforts into the background and forgetting the more important parts of the photo - the actual models.
you've burned the background while the two kids are not lit correctly.

[evader]

Thanks for the feedback.

You are right I was focusing more on the background than I was on the models as this is my first attempt at doing this kind of shot...also the kids are mine so it's good practice

I too thought the background might be blown out a little too much, that's why I posted it here to get some feedback. I'm not sure how to avoid that...do I just turn the power on the SB-600 down? Won't that make the background more grey than white? Also, how do I avoid the light creeping back onto the models and blowing out the edges like it is?

I'm pretty sure I can correct the light on the models when I get myself another flash rather than using the light I'm using...it's not bright enough.

Thanks again for the help...really appreciated.

[MrJones]

I'm guessing you are working in a tight space, maybe a bedroom or a small room.
the light is creeping back on the models because they are too close to the background.
now, since the background is white and you are shooting tremendous amount of light it, it works as a reflector and bounces it back toward the model.
what you need to do, while not always possible, is to place your models about 8-9 feet from the background, this way you'll have a blown out background (which is good) but it won't reflect on the models since they are far enough for it to affect them.