Studio Lighting Part 5: More for your Money

I like black backgrounds, white backgrounds too. Gray I would have to say is my favorite though. Why? Gray is fantastic with skin tones. No matter the ethnic background, a neutral gray will help to create saturation and classic look. Cool thing is, you don't need to own three different backgrounds. Control your light and you can do a lot of different colors with the same background.

A few gels and a half a stop under exposure turned the background from 50% gray to purple, then blue, and red all in the same shoot. (Though I don't have a good example of the red- not fond of the model). For Yellows and greens and other lighter colors I'd suggest using a white background as a base and underexposing the background more. Plus you need to create a lot of density by using several filters. Use all of the same color for the primary shades or a combination of two different colors for secondary shades. If that's confusing please Google "color wheel" and you'll see how endless the possibilities are. Experimentation is the key to success here, but it's better done on your own time, not your clients.

Gray can also be done on a white background. Just turn off the background lights!  Always light your subject and background separately when trying these techniques and you'll be just fine. Shoot some and post links. I want to see! Don't have a seamless white background?  Try a white bed sheet. If you own accessory flash units you probably own a variety of filers and don't even know it. My Nikon Speedlights came with a bunch all designed to fit into a specially designed holder that came with the SB-900. Very handy little guys.

Tomorrow: Looking for a beginners list of what you should buy for a home studio? Well tomorrow's your lucky day...