How to use a solid background for portrait and product photography?

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

There are no trifles in professional photography. No matter how fresh and good the model, improperly built light can make her a gloomy Yaga. A still life that is perfect in terms of composition will become mediocre and distorted due to improper flash work. What can we say about unnecessary objects in the frame, the wrong shutter speed, a cluttered background? But if the white balance, color correction and littered horizon can be easily corrected in a graphics editor, then you should be more careful with the background. Of course, even a novice photo artist can easily transfer the subject to any background they like, but in this case, the picture loses some liveliness and dynamism. In addition, not every shooting involves subsequent deep post-processing, so a real find, especially for a novice photographer, can be a mobile monochrome background for portrait and product shooting.

What is the background?

Most often backdrops are used by photographers working in studios. The price of professional backgrounds is quite high. However, they are very convenient to use. There are many options: rolls, frames, stretch fabrics, curtains … The task of the background isemphasize the dignity of the subject, show it from the best side, without distracting attention from it. The background can harmonize in color with the object or, on the contrary, create an advantageous contrast.

Do-it-yourself solid background? Why not

For those who just embarked on the path of a photographer and began to collect a fleet of equipment, there is no need for extra waste. In addition, you can make a plain background for the photo yourself. Moreover, some professionals quite successfully use homemade backgrounds. For example, you can use a roll of paper as a background. The main thing is that its width is enough to solve creative problems. A roll of non-woven wallpaper may well come up (its width is 1.1 m). It is not necessary to carry the entire roll - it is better to cut a strip of the desired length. You can fasten such a background to the wall with the help of small nails. Such a background can be of almost any color, moreover, not only plain, but also colorful. In addition to paper, fabric is also often used. Smooth satin is perfect for the background. But, for example, rough matting has its own charm and can be used to solve various creative problems.

Features of background colors

Do not think that by buying a lot of cuts of wallpaper or fabric, any beginner will be able to take their creativity to a new level. For example, a white solid background very often looks gray in the finished image. Gray is a great color, and it’s also very popular, but if you need white, you’ll have to try and direct it tobackground additional light. Black canvases are great for shooting in a low key, and they also work well for portraits of fair-haired people, especially in light-colored clothes. When photographing haute cuisine products and dishes, a black background is also used quite often: noble red fish, snow-white desserts, varietal wine in crystal look expressive and expensive against deep black. But when working with black, you need to build the light no less carefully: sometimes the object needs additional highlighting.

Colored backgrounds are no less interesting. For example, a green solid background is ideal for product photography, but in portrait photography it is better not to risk it, as sometimes it can give the face an unhe althy shade. Light pastel shades work well for portraits of children, while deep dark tones work well for expressive macro photography.