Help with background selection please.

kevingeary

I'm doing a shoot for two martial arts schools. We're doing three days of shooting...probably a total of 80-100 students.

In the martial arts world, the digital background stuff is really popular. But that's not really my style.

I like aggressive lighting and an edgy look, but without the gimmicky backgrounds.

So what do you think would be a good option for a background? A solid muslin color? A solid paper background?

Some considerations:

1. Three uniform colors for the students; some have white, some red, some blue.

2. The studio may want to knock out the background to use some of these for advertising.

What would you go with? What's a color/style that would put the focus on the student?

Snowgirl

kevingeary wrote: »

I'm doing a shoot for two martial arts schools. We're doing three days of shooting...probably a total of 80-100 students.

In the martial arts world, the digital background stuff is really popular. But that's not really my style.

I like aggressive lighting and an edgy look, but without the gimmicky backgrounds.

So what do you think would be a good option for a background? A solid muslin color? A solid paper background?

Some considerations:

1. Three uniform colors for the students; some have white, some red, some blue.

2. The studio may want to knock out the background to use some of these for advertising.

What would you go with? What's a color/style that would put the focus on the student?

If it were me, I go with a solid black background with light to separate the person from the background a bit. That would give the studio the option they are looking for as well. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the uniforms with white in them blending into a white high-key type of background.

kevingeary

Snowgirl wrote: »

If it were me, I go with a solid black background with light to separate the person from the background a bit. That would give the studio the option they are looking for as well. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the uniforms with white in them blending into a white high-key type of background.

And I suppose I wouldn't have to spend time lighting the background either...

But is black too boring for this type of shoot?

pathfinder

Light grey - hit it with some flash and it will be white in your photo. Flag it out, so that none of your snooted flash hits it, and it will end up black in your images. Best of both worlds!

kevingeary

pathfinder wrote: »

Light grey - hit it with some flash and it will be white in your photo. Flag it out, so that none of your snooted flash hits it, and it will end up black in your images. Best of both worlds!

If I get a white one and don't light it, won't it be grey?

pathfinder

Yup! Or black, depending.

Art Scott

[QUOTE=kevingeary;1594745
In the martial arts world, the digital background stuff is really popular. But that's not really my style.

I like aggressive lighting and an edgy look, but without the gimmicky backgrounds.[/QUOTE]

Here is what I think...explain to the MA schools you do not use digital backdrops and like the edgy lighting...Make sure they understand this or all hell could break loose with clients wanting something that you do not like to do.....
Remember it is not about what we like but rather what the client likes and wants.......they come to us because they believe we can deliver what they want.....which is not always the type of image we want to produce.....just because a client sees our portfolio full of edgy work doesnot meant they want the edgy style...but rather a more commercially accepted style ...

Good Luck......A little darker than Savage's Thunder Grey only in a muslin...it can go white, black or most any color in between.

kevingeary

Art Scott wrote: »

Here is what I think...explain to the MA schools you do not use digital backdrops and like the edgy lighting...Make sure they understand this or all hell could break loose with clients wanting something that you do not like to do.....
Remember it is not about what we like but rather what the client likes and wants.......they come to us because they believe we can deliver what they want.....which is not always the type of image we want to produce.....just because a client sees our portfolio full of edgy work doesnot meant they want the edgy style...but rather a more commercially accepted style ...

Good Luck......A little darker than Savage's Thunder Grey only in a muslin...it can go white, black or most any color in between.

Art,

The school owner understands that there won't be any digital backgrounds.

By edgy, I'm kinda shooting for this style: http://dustinsnipes.com/blog/2008/07/06/70-basketball-portraits-in-in-two-days/

I don't know if you'd call that edgy or not. I'm not even positive edgy has any defined meaning, lol.

I've never used Muslin, only paper. The problem with paper backdrops is hauling them around. The bitches are long and heavy and awkward...lol. Is there a trick to it?

pathfinder

I like the action portraits, the look is very Joel Grimes, except that Joel does drop his portraits on a new HDR background shot. But the subject in cross lighting is very similar.

Notice how in the same tunnel that background is grey or black, entirely dependent on the lighting. The background could even be overdriven to white as well.

kevingeary

pathfinder wrote: »

I like the action portraits, the look is very Joel Grimes, except that Joel does drop his portraits on a new HDR background shot. But the subject in cross lighting is very similar.

Notice how in the same tunnel that background is grey or black, entirely dependent on the lighting. The background could even be overdriven to white as well.

{off to study joel grimes} lol.

kevingeary

On Grimes' shots...he tends to use two rim/side lights and one fill light in front. But what do you think the ratio is? Do you think the fill is more powerful than the rims? Or the rims providing most of the light and the front light is maybe half of their power?