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White Seamless

Watch this complete guide to shooting subjects on white seamless backgrounds

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White seamless background photography has been a staple of both portraits and products, amongst other things, for decades. It’s one of those things that almost all photographers (at least the ones who end up doing it for money) will probably learn to do at some point, just so that if they’re asked for it, they know how to do it. But it’s a style that I’ve seen so many photographers struggle with.

The concepts involved in photographing a well-lit subject in front of a pure white background are fairly straightforward, but there are lots of different things that come into play when you try it and things to think about that can easily catch you out while you’re learning. In this video, Ed Verosky walks us through not only the process of shooting on white seamless but the potential problems that can come up, too.

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How to shoot translucent product photos on a white background with just a couple of speedlights

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Shooting transparent and translucent objects on a white background can often be very tricky. You want to be able to show off the product itself without it being overpowered by the background behind it. It can be difficult to light in a way that makes it stand out, but it is definitely possible – as proven by thousands of listings on sites like Amazon, eBay or Etsy.

Well, in this video, Dustin Dolby at workphlo takes the mystery out of shooting translucent and transparent items on a white background so that you can photograph your products in a way that helps to make your or your client’s product listings stand out.

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How to shoot easy white backgrounds for either products or portraits

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It’s one of the oldest and most fundamental techniques when it comes to shooting both portraits and product photography in the studio. But it’s also one of the most misunderstood and difficult to grasp for a lot of newer photographers. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about the ubiquitous white background shot.

In this video, Rob Hall walks us through the process of getting two white backgrounds. The first demonstration is in a portrait setting, showing how the background is lit vs the subject and how to prevent the background from flaring into the lens. In the second, Rob sets up a small product shot using a light table. Both are lit quite differently but achieve the same result.

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This genius trick gives you an infinite white background for shooting small products

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This is one of the coolest “hacks” I’ve seen in a while. When tasked to shoot a bunch of small products on a white seamless, you have two options. You can either build a white seamless set, light it and get everything just perfect. But that takes a lot of time and effort.

The other option is what filmmaker Justin Gustavison did. He strapped a white piece of card to his camera, placed the camera on a turntable and then surrounded it with the subjects he had to shoot. Justin posted the results to Instagram and it looks like it works brilliantly.[Read More…]

How to bulk process and edit headshots on a white background

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Headshots and portraits on a white background are a timeless classic. And most of us who shoot portraits have had to do them at some point. If we haven’t, we likely will sometime in the future. Processing and editing them, though, can often be a pain, especially if you’re shooting a whole bunch of people at once. A group of employees at a company, for example.

In this video, Sean Tucker talks about his white background workflow. How he finds his selects, basic raw processing, and finally his retouching (which is very minimal). It’s a very clean and efficient workflow. And while there is a timer playing in the bottom, the process goes a lot quicker if you don’t have to explain it for a YouTube video.

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Why a white backdrop is the only portrait background you’ll ever need

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I often see people asking what colour they should paint their new studio, or what backdrop should they get. My advice, if you only have to pick one, is to get white. Always. White is the most versatile background you could use for portraits. My reasoning is simple. You can turn white into any colour you choose.

In this video, Malaysian photographer Andrew Boey with the assistance of his model, Demi, shows us how to send a white backdrop to complete blackness. It’s actually a pretty simple process when it’s broken down into the basic steps.

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How to light close-up product shots at home simply and easily

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At some point, almost all of us will need to shoot a good product photo.  We may not be shooting them for clients, or doing video reviews, but we’ll probably stick something up on eBay and want to show it off well to increase the chances of it fetching a good price.

In this video from Curtis Judd, we see a quick and easy setup for lighting products on a white stage for some great looking images.

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How to shoot video with a white seamless background on the cheap

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There are countless ways of setting up and lighting a white background for stills or video, but sometimes you just need to get it done quick and maybe you’re working with limited space.

This short video from Rob & Jonas’ Filmmaking Tips shows us how to get set up easily and relatively painlessly for filming on a white background in a small space.

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