I’m back! This post is proof!

One of the questions I get asked is “Dude, how do you get your white seamless, so white? Is it post?”
Answer: Yes and no.

As you may or may not know, I don’t use a light meter. I know they are an amazing tool and when I used film, I didn’t trust NOT using one, but with digital, there’s no need. That and my attitude now is totally different than what it was then. Today, I preach: “learn your lights” and of course “learn to see light”

So let’s start with a pull back:

As the above photo shows, I use three lights;

Photogenic PL500DRC as key
2 Photogenic PLR1250DR in photogenic 12×36 strip boxes

I meter by eye, my backdrop lights to be around f11, the key light, around f8. Of course this all changes in relation to what the model is wearing, but stick with me here. Assuming all is well in the world, this setup should produce the following results:

This photo is the shot right after the above pull back.

Where the extra “pop” comes from, is the curves adjustment I do on the RAW image. It’s not a big one, just a slight one to bring out the highlights. Here’s the final image: