white floor without sahdows

[inaromad]

simple question:

 

how i light a white floor without shadows?

[Stephen Williams]

simple question:

 

how i light a white floor without shadows?

 

Backlight a false floor.

[inaromad]

what do you mean with false floor?

[inaromad]

i need an actor walking on the floor

[Stephen Williams]

i need an actor walking on the floor

 

Hi,

 

Do you mean a big soft shadow from a huge soft light source or do you mean no shadow whatsoever. If you mean no shadow whatsoever the floor has to be lit from underneath, otherwise any light hitting the actor will cast a shadow somewhere.

 

A large soft source & some retouching may be the cheapest way to go.

 

Please also use your full real name as required by this forum.

 

Stephen

[Walter Graff]

Use soft sources from above and soft fill from all sides and over expose the white to loose the soft shadows that result.

[Chad Stockfleth]

Or you can shoot on greenscreen and make the background white.

[Ron Sharp]

If its in a studio you could use a cove,or cyclorama

[matt cooke]

If you are in a studio light it from above with several space lights.

[Stephen Williams]

Use soft sources from above and soft fill from all sides and over expose the white to loose the soft shadows that result.

 

Hi Walter,

 

Out of interest how can you overexpose the white without overexposing the foreground?

 

Stephen

[Walter Graff]

It's a give and take. I just did a fashion piece where the models walked on a paper white cyc. I wanted white so over exposed a bit. Then in post we simply left the highlights white and brought the middle down a slight bit putting our talent back to where they would have been had we not overexposed for the highlight. So you give a bit bit take it back in post. And sometimes you can even add a bit more to the white in post. Works well. Of course you can't over expose like crazy shooting but then it doesn't take much to make the white peak. I lit the entire shot with two 6k HMIs aimed into the white ceiling above the cyc from either side. It created nice even light and basically zero shadows. In the shot below she is against the back wall which she never was during the takes. There is a slight shadow in this shot but it is very soft. Even when the girl stood right at the curve in the paper we laid out, there is little to no shadow. Here she is standing right against the back of the paper in this uncorrected shot. I have range now to go more on the white if I want to and to make color and tone adjustments on her. I over exposed slightly in this shot. BUt not enough to really kill anything.

 

[Stephen Williams]

Hi Walter.

 

I can see a shadow on both sides of the model.

 

Stephen

 

It's a give and take. I just did a fashion piece where the models walked on a paper white cyc. I wanted white so over exposed a bit. Then in post we simply left the highlights white and brought the middle down a slight bit putting our talent back to where they would have been had we not overexposed for the highlight. So you give a bit bit take it back in post. And sometimes you can even add a bit more to teh white in post. Works well. Of cousre you can't over expose like crazy shooting but then it doesn't take much to make the white peak. I lit the entire shot with two 6k HMIs aimed into the white ceiling above the cyc from either side. It created nice even light and zero shadows. Even when the girl stood right at the curve in the paper we laid out, there is little to no shadow. Here she is standing right against the back of the paper in this uncorreced shot. I have range now to go more on the white if I want to and to make color and tone adjustments on her. I over exposed slightly in this shot. BUt not enough to really kill anything.

 

[Walter Graff]

Of course you can. You can not eliminate shadows. But using large soft sources you all but eliminate them. I used the still frame I did because she was standing on top of the back wall just to show how soft they were. But when she is anywhere else on the floor there are no shadows noticeable other than a very soft outline just below her. That is hte best you can do.