How can I get a pure white background when photographing clothing laid flat?
Asked 4/14/2013
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I photograph clothing laid flat and would like the background to go pure white to reduce post-processing. Using my normal white background works for mannequins, but when the clothing is on the ground I can’t light the background brighter than the garment. I’ve considered raising the clothing, using a translucent surface with light from below, or buying a light tent/light box. What low-cost setup or technique works best for getting a blown-out white background with flat-lay clothing?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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Not sure what low cost means to you but I use three items to shoot all product images at Neocamera: a light tent ($60), a glass table ($59) and two desk lamps (2 x $29). Since you shoot directly down, you can replace the light tent with a white sheet.
The setup is simple. Light tent goes on the table. One lamp below the table. One lamp above and to the side. The closer you bring the lamp to the table, the more blown out background you will get. I try to put it not too close because they sometimes bleeds light on the rounded edges of plastic cameras. For clothes you probably wont worry about it.
Removing the background is done in post via Photoshop. Background is easy to select with a small tolerance. Then, it gets deleted and the image is put on a layer of the desired color. White cameras give a problem and need to be shot on a black background instead which is more work. I still have trouble with cameras that are black and white!
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
To make a laid-flat clothing background go pure white, the key is backlighting the background separately from the garment. If the item sits directly on the background, you generally can’t make the background much brighter without affecting the clothing too.
Low-cost approaches mentioned in the community:
- Put the clothing on a translucent surface (glass or diffusion material) and place a light underneath to blow out the background.
- Light the clothing from above with a separate lamp/flash.
- For top-down shots, a white sheet can substitute for a tent in some setups.
A light tent/light box can help soften lighting, but by itself it won’t magically make the background brighter than the subject unless the background is separately backlit.
If your items are small enough, using a softbox or diffusion panel as the surface/backdrop can work.
You’ll still often need a little post-processing. Shooting RAW and pushing exposure/highlights carefully can help turn near-white into pure white without lifting the whole image too much. Many product shooters also do a quick mask/remove-background step afterward because it’s fast and clean when the background is already close to white.
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