Lighting a white background interview

Ale Capo · March 20, 2017

Hi guys!

I need to light an interview where I want the white background to be quite shiny. I would like to avoid a faded background.

This is a good reference of how I would like it to be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ynXKHC9Wo4

Do you have any suggestions of how to light it?

Does it depends from the type of background?

Because the producer got the cheap one from amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leaptek-Adjustable-Photography-Professional-Background/dp/B01CZOP3Y6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1490012270&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=white+backdrop&psc=1

Thanks!

David Mullen ASC · March 20, 2017

What do you mean by "shiny"? What do you mean by "faded"?

Ale Capo · March 20, 2017

By "shiny" I mean a white that is bouncing light equally in its whole surface.

As if the whole background it's a light source with the same amount of bounce in every area of it, similarly to the reference I pasted.

Hope I exaplined better

Satsuki Murashige · March 20, 2017

That's just a flat, evenly lit white background. So all you need is something like two 4x4 Kino Flos, one on each side of the backdrop. Super easy to do.

Joshua Hesami · March 31, 2017

I light a white cyc wall like this quite often. What's very important to remember for these is to keep the white light from spilling onto your subject. You need to use negative fill very close to the edge of the frame around your talent. Get good distance between your subject and the wall.

I see this done poorly quite often but its much easier to light as a medium shot than a head-to-toe on white.

Check out this guys photography setup (his lighting isn't great but he explains the negative-fill solution very well:

Edited March 31, 2017 by Joshua Hesami

Robin R Probyn · March 31, 2017

Agree with Satsuki.. if its just head and shoulders a couple of kino or similar should do.. good to have dim able lights for tweaking the "white" level..just totally flat lit..

Funny you should use that example.. the Apple white background became the look dejour.. for all corp video interviews ,for a few years back in the day.. I did stuff for Apple around that time.. but they would often actually be shot green screen.. and the white background matted in post.. to have control over the the actual "whiteness" rather than just full on blown out white off the WFM .. which can be tricky with real "white. background . ". (I think there was the official Apple white !.) .. with a uniform exposure from corner to corner that you want.. you can also key off white come to think of it.. ?

Edited March 31, 2017 by Robin R Probyn

Adrian Sierkowski · March 31, 2017

Honestly generally whenever I have to do a "color" background i often want to do it as a green screen-- unless it's a full body. But that's just me.

Satsuki Murashige · March 31, 2017

Yeah, 'Apple white' is definitely a thing. I don't get the desire to chroma key everything, there's always gonna be trade-offs with spill, wardrobe, hair. Sometimes the edges of a person's eyeglasses if they are thick can be an issue. It usually takes longer to light. And if you're shooting reflective product? Oy...

I'd rather just have the client commit to shooting it for real, if possible. I think it usually looks better, but that's just me.

Robin R Probyn · April 1, 2017

Yes each to their own.. its never my choice.. Apple is super a n a l about everything.. and their white was no doubt decided upon by 20 art directors on 1/2 a $mill a year salaries .. during a Yoga retreat camp in Iceland.. interviews is pretty easy to green screen.. they just make a garbage matte .. as long as your subject isnt jumping around in their seat .. so you dont have to worry about the corners all being smooth.. evenly lit.. But I did a much bigger shoot for Dell with full height subjects.. in a green screen studio.. with white back ground done in post.. that would have been alot harder shot in a totally "white" studio I think.. shadow nightmare..well for me anyway !