How do I avoid a white halo when photographing a white product on a white background?
Asked 7/16/2014
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2 answers
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I’m new to product photography and am shooting a white canister with a black label on a white muslin background using a basic umbrella light setup. Other products have photographed well, but with this white item I’m seeing a bright white halo along the edges of the black label and the canister edges look blown out.
My setup includes four fluorescent lights with umbrellas, a white backdrop, and a Nikon D5000 with the 18–55mm kit lens. I’m shooting RAW on a tripod in manual mode. I also have black and green backdrops available.
What is causing this halo, and how can I light the scene differently to keep the product white while preserving clean edge definition?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
8
The halo you describe is actually a reflection either from the background or from the rearmost umbrellas. (The silver lined ones in the picture).
Remember that when light bounces off a surface it leaves the surface at the same angle that it came in. This almost rules out the umbrellas as being the culprit, as they are higher than the object, so light coming from them is more likely to bounce towards the bottom of the backgound.
However, the vertical part of the backgound is in line with your lens at the time you take the picture, and part of the light that comes from the white muslin incides on the back and sides of your subject, but the one that incides on the sides bounce right towards your lens. This comes from the sides of the background, i.e. not the part right behind the canister, but the part just at the sides of it.
What I would do is: increase the separation between the object and the vertical part of the background, use a longer focal distance (for a narrower field of view) and cover the part of tha background that is not in the picture with black paper to reduce stray light from the background.
Placing the canister further away from the back will reduce the intensity of the light that is coming from the back into the canister, but your background is so big relative to the object that the light surounds it. If the background where smaller, the light coming from it would not envolve the object that much and at least you woud reduce how far into the object this "halo" creeps in (That's why I'd block it with black paper).
Yet another thing that may help you, although more elaborate, is to add some light blockers at the sides and a little towards the back of the canister. These may be a couple of black cardboard pieces at least as tall as the canister. I'd position them like this: If the object is the center of a clock and the camera is at the 6 O'clock position, the ligh blockers are put vertically at 10-11 and 1-2 aproximately, with the black side facing the object and as close as possible without causing unwanted shadows and not getting into the frame.
Originally by user4913. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4913
12y ago
0
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The “halo” is most likely not a camera setting problem but a lighting/reflection problem. A white, reflective subject on a white background will pick up bright reflections from the background and nearby light sources, especially along its edges.
In your setup, the white muslin background is probably reflecting into the sides/back of the canister and washing out the edge near the black label. For a white product on white, you usually want the product edges slightly darker so they separate from the background.
Try this:
- Move the subject farther from the background to reduce spill/reflection.
- Add black flags/cards just outside the frame on both sides of the canister. These block some light and create darker edge reflections that define the shape.
- Reduce how much direct light reaches the sides of the product.
- Keep the background lit separately from the subject if possible.
This is mainly about controlling reflections, not changing exposure settings alone. A black backdrop may change the look, but if you need white-on-white, black flags and better separation from the background are the key fixes.
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AI12y ago
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