Background Removal

oreo5000 · 30 Mar 2008

Hi Guys, your advice please.
I have been asked to take some portraits last minute so I dont have time to buy any more equipment.
The portraits are going to be used on posters so the backgrounds will be removed.

As I dont have any studio lighting or background kits I just wondered what the best approach would be.

Im using a D200 and an SB600. Would I be better off underexposing the background to give a larger contrast between that and the subject thus making it easier to cut out, or should I find a plain background i.e. a white wall, and try to overexpose it?

Would you go off camera with the flash or keep it on the camera and bounce?

Thanks for your help

cherryrig · 30 Mar 2008

Off camera flash pointing at the background, then over expose the background so it's a bright white then it'll be easy to "cut" out the person from the background.

oreo5000 · 31 Mar 2008

cherryrig said:
Off camera flash pointing at the background, then over expose the background so it's a bright white then it'll be easy to "cut" out the person from the background.

so no flash on the subject?

cherryrig · 31 Mar 2008

Yea if you want to. It's up to you, depends how and what flashes you have. If you can I would put a flash on the subject as well.

yourapocalypse · 31 Mar 2008

Do you only have the one light source (SB600)?

oreo5000 · 31 Mar 2008

yourapocalypse said:
Do you only have the one light source (SB600)?

Yeah mate thats all I have

oreo5000 · 31 Mar 2008

cherryrig said:
Yea if you want to. It's up to you, depends how and what flashes you have. If you can I would put a flash on the subject as well.

I only have one SB600

cherryrig · 31 Mar 2008

Well as you only have one SB then you can only use one SB to fire at the background to overexpose it.

oreo5000 · 31 Mar 2008

cherryrig said:
Well as you only have one SB then you can only use one SB to fire at the background to overexpose it.

Wouldnt it be better to use the flash on the subject and underexpose the bg, allowing you to extract the darker area of the image?

cherryrig · 31 Mar 2008

Much much harder. Have you got a black wall at all then? As to underexpose the background you would need to have a really dark room and a large f number. Then you would have to make sure that your flash doesn't hit the background and ruin the blackness.

Which sounds easier to you?!

oreo5000 · 31 Mar 2008

cherryrig said:
Much much harder. Have you got a black wall at all then? As to underexpose the background you would need to have a really dark room and a large f number. Then you would have to make sure that your flash doesn't hit the background and ruin the blackness.

Which sounds easier to you?!

haha, ok ill go with your method

Thanks for your help