How can I light a hand-painted muslin backdrop with speedlights for a softer traditional portrait look?
Asked 12/8/2014
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I’m shooting self-portraits with Yongnuo speedlights and want to add background light for better subject separation. My backdrop is a hand-painted muslin, and when I tried a bare flash at 1/32 power zoomed to 85mm, the light falloff on the background was too harsh.
I’m aiming for a classic portrait look with smoother background illumination. What’s the best approach with speedlights: bouncing, an umbrella or softbox, a snoot, flags/gobos, or something else? How should I position the background light to keep it soft while avoiding spill onto the subject?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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Don't think of the background light as just a background light. Play with it.
If you double the distance you will diminish the fall-off.
You will need to double the output, and probably put a card so you don't spill light to your subject.
But play with the light, cut a cardboard in different shapes.
From different angles
Put a diffuser before the cardboard, remove the diffuser, move the distance to the screen, to the cardboard, the angle.
You can also construct a snoot just wrapping cardboard around your flash head.
Take a time to shoot not your portrait, but to shoot just backgrounds.
After you play with background's illumination probably you need to separate a bit more the subject from the background, because the light of the main subject will contaminate the background. Again, play with the distances.
I'm adding this part. Lighting the background will not add "separation" on its own. Playing with the illumination on the background will give you an ambient, hopefully it will add some mood or a story to your portrait.
But to "separate it" you need to play with the illumination between your model and the background. A hair light; a shadow-light vs light-shadow scheme perhaps; or narrower DOF.
Originally by user37321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37321
11y ago
0
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For a painted muslin backdrop, start by making the background light larger and/or farther from the backdrop. A bare, zoomed flash gives a small, hard beam, so the falloff looks abrupt.
Good options:
- Bounce the speedlight off a nearby white wall or ceiling for broad, soft illumination.
- Use an umbrella or softbox for more controlled soft light.
- Move the light farther from the backdrop; this reduces visible falloff, though you’ll need more flash power.
- Use flags/cards to keep spill off your subject.
A snoot is usually for a tighter, more focused spot, so it’s generally not the first choice if you want a smooth traditional background wash. However, homemade cardboard snoots/gobos can be useful if you want to shape the light creatively.
Also watch subject placement: if your main light is hitting the backdrop, increase subject-to-background distance to improve separation and reduce contamination.
A practical workflow is to first light and photograph just the background, experimenting with distance, angle, diffusion, and flags until the pattern looks right, then add the subject lighting.
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AI11y ago
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