A few nice change background image images I found:
Getting White Space
Image by maxymedia
Studio Test Notes
There's no question that quality photography (and video for that matter) increases clicks (viewer engagement) and online purchases.
Catalogue shots tend to shoot against a solid white background to focus viewer attention on the subject - ie eliminate any other distraction (noise).
We've been experimenting with getting this white background perfect (given our limited equipment - three Speedlight flash/ strobe units). Note: I'll concern myself with bigger units as we better understand what we're buying and the customer need)
To blow out the white background it's suggested +2 stops above subject exposure (any more apparently bleed back on the subject).
The result was a F/8 exposure (200 ISO) on the background.
We bought a Sekonic L-358 light meter - this makes a huge difference. We're measuring light hitting the surface of the background and object not light reflecting (what in-camera meters give you).
That means aiming for a F/6.3 on the image.
We've setup the object (beer bottle and flower) about a meter (1 yard) in front of the background
We experiment with the second flash manual settings (through a softbox) to get the right exposure - softtbox at 45 degrees to right and 45 above. Note: Switch off the background flash first.
Snap Snap Snap....
Results (and things to fix)
There's so much you don't see in the camera viewfinder and only can analyse once back on the computer
On the background we see a gradual tone change (gradient) and therefore as a solution can see if we bring the flash down to level (was at 45 degrees above) will fix. I can also try and throw more light on the background. If you double the distance you get 1/2^2, or one quarter as much light.
Background Flash Shadow. At the foot of the bottle we see shadow from the background flash. This can hopefully be fixed by putting a flag against the background flash.
The flower and bottle are generally pretty flat and I would have liked more shadow to the left side of the object - not quite sure how to do that yet besides blocking any ambient left light. Also I've lost image quality through a narrower depth of field - I can possibly reduce ambient light or increase ISO to give me more room to play.
Till next time
Couple-walking-in-snow
Image by Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
sources: "Couple walking in snow",
www.4freephotos.com/Couple_walking_in_snow-image-c4f8a509...
"Definition; Love" by cgoldberg89
www.flickr.com/photos/cgb_bbear/3082932860/in/faves-93143...
My theme for the project is homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
Transformation: cropped the background image, changed its color balance and saturation, cropped the "love" layer and added to the background, scaled it, changed the layer mode to difference, used brush and eraser to make the layer blend into the background, used rectangular marquee tool to make a white rectangular, changed its opacity, added text, added shadow and pattern on text
