Hi Guys,

Has anybody got any advice as to how best to photograph subjects against a white isolated background.

I have tried, but my backgrounds are white which merge into grey at the edges and/or corners.

I'm using white card as a background, and a softbox and umbrella for lighting.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks.

mithan, you have to isolate in program like photoshop to get ideally white background.

mithan,

This has been discussed often here, and at least once recently. Try the search tool:
http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?action=search

Quote from: Whitechild on May 03, 2009, 22:45
mithan, you have to isolate in program like photoshop to get ideally white background.

Sorry but I totally disagree - it can be done with lighting alone and once you know how it's not difficult to do.
There are plenty of tutorials and diagrams out there. here's a few.

http://www.zarias.com/?p=71

http://realdealphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7580095_vtmwU#504967343_9mQFS  -for some diagrams

http://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=96872&page=1

the greying is the cause of spill from your background lighting. i would suggest using a gobo . this will also be useful to prevent lens flare which causes degradation to your subtle details.

Quote from: sc on May 04, 2009, 00:08

Quote from: Whitechild on May 03, 2009, 22:45
mithan, you have to isolate in program like photoshop to get ideally white background.

Sorry but I totally disagree - it can be done with lighting alone and once you know how it's not difficult to do.
There are plenty of tutorials and diagrams out there. here's a few.

http://www.zarias.com/?p=71

http://realdealphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7580095_vtmwU#504967343_9mQFS  -for some diagrams

http://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=96872&page=1

It depends whether you are talking about isolated people or isolated objects: these techniques work only when the subject and the background are far enough to be able to light both of them separately.

For objects which are lying directly on the background, this is something completely different.

Quote from: sc on May 04, 2009, 00:08

Quote from: Whitechild on May 03, 2009, 22:45
mithan, you have to isolate in program like photoshop to get ideally white background.

Sorry but I totally disagree - it can be done with lighting alone and once you know how it's not difficult to do.
There are plenty of tutorials and diagrams out there. here's a few.

http://www.zarias.com/?p=71

http://realdealphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7580095_vtmwU#504967343_9mQFS  -for some diagrams

http://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=96872&page=1

Yes, you can do it without any software, if you want to spend lots of money.... and you can do it in the software if you want to do the same without spending money for expensive lighting.
So, mithan, you decide. 

Thanks for all of your help guys....