Mastering White Background Macro Photography
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- Опубликовано: 29 ноя 2020
- Mastering White-Background Macro Photography - Show Notes
Hello all and welcome back to Allan Walls Photography.
As always, a huge thank you to my Patreon supporters and to those kind folks who have made donations through my donation page (www.allanwallsphotography.com.... None of this would be possible without your generosity!
Creating this content is my full-time job, so if you would like to support my efforts and help keep the videos coming, please consider signing up as a Patreon patron, which can be done by going to / allanwallsphotography .
The equipment used in this video is as follows (some of these links are Amazon Associate links which means that I may make a small commission when a qualified purchase is made using these links - it helps me and doesn't cost you anything):
The Nikon D7500 - my go-to studio macro camera... amzn.to/38sghba
My studio strobes from Paul C. Buff... amzn.to/3rzTz8B
My backup studio lighting is Godox... amzn.to/2Obwb2P
But will soon be replaced by the awesome AD600s... amzn.to/3bE3HHX
The speedlights I use are also from Godox - love em... amzn.to/3l4KuCa
I use SmallRig articulating arms and super clamps... amzn.to/3esSPyq
... and the larger version... amzn.to/3eqFrus
... and to put on the ends (get at least 4)... amzn.to/3bzysh6
My favorite light meter, from Sekonic can be found here... amzn.to/3esoBvq
... but as it is no longer made, the best option is ... amzn.to/3vfpEEC
The last time we got together, I talked a lot about using colored backgrounds in your macro photography, but didn’t say too much about using pure white backgrounds, other than that it is one of the more challenging ways to shoot closeup. I think you will see exactly why this subject deserved its own video - there was a lot to cover.
I start out by defining white-background photography and walking through all the issues that make it a difficult skill to master. Then I show you how to set up your studio space and describe the two key methods for making sure your lighting is right - one of which uses the in-camera histogram and the other rehires the use of a light meter. After shooting and stacking a couple of subjects, we then go over to Lightroom to learn a couple of quick and easy retouching concepts for getting a pure white background when our imported images are less than pure white. Lastly, we look at a much more difficult image of a spider with a lot of fine white detail and I show you a tried and tested technique for purifying a white background under these tricky conditions.
As usual, there is a lot of information in this video. I tried to trim it down, but really couldn’t find anything that wasn’t important enough to leave in. But at least I tried!
If you check out my blog post (which can be found at www.allanwallsphotography.com...) you will find some links to the equipment and supplies used in this video.
Thanks for watching, and don’t forget to subscribe and ring the bell!
Cheers,
Allan
Time saving info squared - Thank you!
thanks from France^^
amazing. thank you so much for the excellent briefing!
Great vid as always
When exposing for high key photography I would set the lights for the subject as normal, same as you, but for the background I would turn off the subject lights and set the exposure so there is no bleed over in the hair, as you stated you can’t do anything about the bleed over in post so I always used this as the exposure point of the background, getting the background pure white in post is easy if you are nearly there,
I am considering making a light box for this purpose, taping on sheets of coloured gel would also work,
And lastly, I have a sheet of shiny opaque acrylic, I intend sanding it to remove the shine when I make the light box
Thank you for sharing very useful indeed!
Excellent video loaded with LOTS of practical advice. Thanks, Allan!
Appreciate the detailed walk-through, thanks!
Allan.more respect for you for your efforts and jobs just to explain for us about all the secrets in macro photography word . Great thanks 🙏
Whoa! I did not realize it was so difficult! Thank you!
Thanks, Allan .... for sharing your hard work with us .... learning from you has made my locked down life easier .... :-)
Great video on a complex subject! Thank you for your detailed explanations Allan. For me, this is the right way to learn.
And thanks to you for supporting my work!
Thanks Allan for an excellent video on white background macro.
You are very welcome, Dennis - thanks for watching!
Good stuff, Allan! Thank you.
Thanks Carl! Good hearing from you!
Nice video with great details. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Allan. I would like to add that it helps if you underexpose your subject by 0.7-1 stop so when you boost whites +50 in Lightroom your subject does not burn its whites. My rule of thumb when shooting jewelry in white background is [Subject no white clipping/ Background white clipping broad as much as it doesnt ruin subject's contrast.]
Best opening to a video. 👍👍👍
Hahaha - thanks! Fun to make!
Amazing how well you explain things and demonstrate them. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Stay safe.
Thanks Mario! Will do!
Good one Allan. A vital skill very well explained. Best wishes, Barry.
Thanks Barry!
Great video as always. Have you considered a Lightbox ? Often used for high key flower photography.
Great video again Allan!!! Top! Only that lightmeter cost alot off money (again.. :( ). So i have to figure it out without one, using the histogram....
OK I'm a newbie, thanks for showing how to do white backgrounds, I assume you have an tutorial on black backgounds too? Could you please direct me to the video?
Tip: There are also lightmeter apps. I've tested a few but not with flash yet. They do seem to be accurate.
Great video, thanks, I learnt a lot about background lighting! I wonder though, would it not be possible to create a mask for the foreground spider and separate out the background thereby making it easier to ramp up the background to pure white leaving the foreground unaffected? I use Affinity photo rather than Photoshop and would I think, be reasonably confident that this is possible?
Hi Nick - that is a really good question. It is, of course, a matter of preference, and selecting and masking works for many subjects, but tends to fall apart when the subject is low contrast, as is so often the case with insect and plant macro. Your transition from subject to background can only ever be as good as your selection. Where the program struggles to sort out foreground from background pixels, it has to make choice - leading to hard transitions in difficult areas. Feathering the selection may help with some parts, but also feathers the higher contrast parts of the image. Using multiple layers with "blend-if" masks overcomes all these issues and allows you make a much more natural and subtle transition. Also, you could purify the white backgrounds of half a dozen images using this method in about the same amount of time it would take to get a really good selection of that spider! The blend-if method works for any kind of subject, but the select and mask solution becomes really difficult with certain subjects.
Could you use canon for the same thing
Can I ask you how you made the cage
Instead of the large white background card and the studio light through the flag, can you simply use a large softbox directly though the flag?
Hi Robert. Yes you can, but there is always the chance of getting a hotspot with a soft box. The light is fairly uniform but the origin of the light, the flash tube itself, often manifests as a brighter area. I may be splitting hairs, but I find that using the reflected light is virtually always uniform. Like I said, there are many ways to skin this particular cat!
How about a lightbox?
Two questions. 1) How did you figure the exact size of the small window that you cut out of the black "flag?" Can the window be a little larger/smaller than the size of your photo frame and still work effectively? 2) Does your digital picture frame solve any/all of the problems with creating pure white backgrounds that you covered in your video, or does it introduce a new set of challenges? Thanks, Allan!
Hi Walter, To size the window in the flag I just set up the lens and camera on the rail and put it in live view. I take a sheet of paper on a clipboard and position it where the flag will be placed. Then mark the corners of the frame onto the paper while looking through the lens. I add a few mm to each edge and transfer the rectangle onto the foam board to use as a cutting guide. Be sure to measure the vertical distance from the base of the cage to the start of the window. It can be a little larger, but I would avoid going any smaller, unless you plan to crop the final image. As for the picture frame, I only use that for colored backgrounds. It is not nearly bright, or white, enough for a pure background. Hope that helps!
I see that you are using a D7500. I have a D5600 and I really want to 'move up' to a better camera. In your opinion (or anyone else's), is going from the 5600 to 7500 worth it? I am pretty sure that the 7500 is only '1 step above' the 5600. My finances are the biggest holdup when it comes to getting it, but the fact that they are pretty close in the Nikon 'hierarchy' has also given me pause. And what would be another 'level up' from the 7500? Looking at the paragraph that I just wrote, I can see that it is a tad bit confusing, but I am unsure how to make it clearer at this point. Any direction is appreciated.
I know exactly what you mean - been there myself. I have never owned the D5600, but my brother has one that I have used. I actually have a D3400 that I have never actually figured out how to use (it has no buttons) and that is really what you are getting from the upgrade - a prosumer camera that can be used all day long without having to go searching for stuff in the menu system. In my opinion, the D7500 is the ideal APS-C camera, with many of the features normally found on the full frame cameras, but at a very nice price. It has a better sensor, with fewer, but larger pixels that the D5600, giving it excellent low light performance and great color. It is weather sealed and shoots 4K, which the D5600 does not. Better autofocus, with more focus points. It is nice and big for a crop frame camera, though tiny next to my D850. It is my primary macro camera, if that tells you anything . I would replace it immediately if anything happened to it. It is the perfect macro camera for me. The D7500 replaced the D7200. The D7200 really felt like the next step up from D5xxx, but the D7500 feels like it is another class, more than a next step, maybe the next flight of steps.. The D500 is the flagship crop frame and the D7500 is a lot closer to the D500 than it is to the D5600. The D500 is beautiful, but it is a sports camera with the same sensor as the D7500. I would chose the D7500 any day, for the money. I would not hesitate to upgrade, but if you have enough pennies saved up, I would buy the D7500 without at least putting your hands on a D750. Now that would be a big step up. And you will never find a better FF DSLR for the prices they are going for. I use FF DSLR for everything except macro. Good luck and let me know what you decide.
@@AllanWallsPhotography It's amazing to ask a question of someone and get some amazing, insightful information said in a clean, articulate manner!
I can't afford it yet, but that, at least, helps me feel much more comfortable about choosing it. Thank you!!
Allan,
How do you get around the Laws of Physics and Photography with your light meter? A flash meter will measure correctly if your camera is at least about 50 cm away from your subject. As the title of your video implies you are doing macro photography, where, by definition, your magnification ratio is 1:1 or larger.
Now, taking the formula E = (m+1)^2, where 'E' is the factor of required exposure increase and 'm" is the magnification of the image (which has a value of 1 for a 1:1 photo) m+1=2 and 2^2 equals 4, so you need to adjust your measured value on the flash meter by a factor of 4 or two f-stops. For a 3:1 macro photo the equation is E=(3+1)^2 which yields an E-value of 16 or 4 f-stops of exposure compensation. So for the flash meter to be a useful tool you need to know the magnification factor of your lens very well and get out a calculator every time you measure your flash exposure. I find the use of the histogram much simpler and use it now exclusively.
Another point just occurred to me: you might also measure at the back of the subject incorrectly. You are actually not interested how the white the background appears to the beetle, but you want white (255,255,255) on your sensor. Might it not be advantageous to measure the light off the background at the camera position, because there will be light falloff again.
Otherwise it was a very good instructional video and I will construct a hole in a board tomorrow and call it a flag in future.
Hi Ulrich, and thanks for the insightful comment. Your points are well taken. However, I am only using the meter to set the power of the studio flash (>50cm away). It is an approximation that gets me close. I am not setting the exposure of the subject using the meter. That has already been done with the histogram. As another viewer pointed out, it may just be happy coincidence that the meter readings from the front and back of the subject correspond, but they do. I have been using this method to set the power of the strobe for white backgrounds for many years and, the laws of physics notwithstanding, it gets me close every time. Maybe you could help me figure out why this is the case? I would be fascinated to know precisely why this shortcut works.