How to get a white background

[rudhakrishna]

I have a small jewelry business that requires taking pictures for clients. I am very good with computers and do all the photo editing myself.

One of the major issues ive had is the background on the images sometimes distracts from the actual item. I see a lot of jewelers have a nice white background on their pictures and it sometimes even has a very nice shadow of the item on the surface. Ive bought an Nikon D3200 camera to help me take great photos. My photos are usually very clean but i cannot figure out how to make the background white or get that shadow.

Here is a link to a type of photo i want.
Ruby and Diamond Strand Tennis Bracelet Angara.com

I have tried to use GIMP 2 software with the path tool which does get clean white background but then i remove the shadows from the surface.

My setup for taking photos is as follows:
Nikon D3200
Photo tent with black background
White acrylic surface
Sometimes a black cloth display

 

[tirediron]

Start by buying the lighting bible. In short, you need to ensure that there's lots of separation between the object and the background (for something this size, "lots" is probably only about 3'), and you need to light the object and the background separately. 4 lights would be ideal, but you could make do with 2 or 3 if you were careful.

 

[sscarmack]

Honestly, if it were me. I'd prefer a natural setting. Maybe a nice wood desk for the floor and just use some shrubs or something for the background. White to me is too, sterile and boring.

Heres an idea.


just my .2

 

[minicoop1985]

You're gonna hate me for this, but my favorite method for getting a white background is... to use a white background.

Instead of working with hot lights, try cross lighting with a pair of (inexpensive) speedlites (flashes) and some large (42" or so) umbrellas. The large source should eliminate any visible shadows.

 

[astroNikon]

Think of it this way.
You want a white background
and yet you have black backgrounds.

The easiest way to correct a lot of this is using white backgrounds.
and easier method is to use a light tent, which is ideal for the size of jewelry
such as (which I've never used): Amazon.com Square Perfect 2085 12-Inch Light Tent Photo Cube Softbox with 4 Colored Backgrounds for Product Photography Photo Studio Shooting Tents Camera Photo

Then everything about about lighting comes into play
the lightening bible as mentioned above is also very good to have, but once you start getting into it. It can be overwhelming (read many times).

Shadows are created with those multiple lights. Being able to modify the output of those lights also helps. As 2 or 3 or 4 lights giving the exact same output from the exact same distance will help eliminate shadows. move them different distances to vary the lighting.

that should get you started
with lights though you could go with continuous (as the objects are not moving) versus flashes.

 

[Braineack]

i took this picture on a very dark gray background:

if you want white, add light.

same exact shot without lights on the background:

 

[ronlane]

The easiest way to correct a lot of this is using white backgrounds.
and easier method is to use a light tent, which is ideal for the size of jewelry
such as (which I've never used): Amazon.com Square Perfect 2085 12-Inch Light Tent Photo Cube Softbox with 4 Colored Backgrounds for Product Photography Photo Studio Shooting Tents Camera Photo

Agree, if you are going to be doing this a bunch, the light tent is the way to go. I have seen a few of these that were really awesome. May not have been as cheap as this one but I really liked the one I tested at a trade show.

 

[minicoop1985]

This was done using a sheet of white poster board. There are some minor shadows, but that's because I used a smaller hot light soft box.

Sigma by Michael Long, on Flickr

 

[minicoop1985]

This is done with the proper umbrellas.

IMG_4151 by Michael Long, on Flickr

 

[rudhakrishna]

I changed the background to a white cloth. Should i also change the bulbs in the light tent to a white light?
Another issue is the entire item is not clear. I am using the macro setting on my camera right now. Should i be using a different setting? Here is an example of what i am talking about.

 

[tirediron]

I'll say it once more:

1. Seperate the item from the background by at least 2-3';

2. light the background separately from the object; and

3. you should be shooting in manual.

 

[Th0r4z1n3]

I was able to achive this without even a basic knowledge of how my WIFE's DSLR worked at the time. I used this tutorial as a Starting point:

DIY: How to Make a Light-Box for Photography Using PVC Pipe - A Cowboy's Wife

From there it was just a matter of adjusting the white balance to correct for the slightly blue tinge that the bulbs had. This took me a while since "white balance" was a term I had never heard before (at the time).

Hope this helps.

Don't judge, this pic is probably all of 6+ years old and I was still learning (AM still learning)

 

[KmH]

Get 2, 2-packs of 20x30 white foam board.

One 20x30 sheet goes on the bottom under your subject.
Two sheets make a corner so you have a side and a back.

Light your subject.
Make Raw files.
Edit a copy of the original produced after Raw conversion.
Edit the copy.

Post process edit all but the subject to eliminate (clone out) where the edges join and to make the white uniformly white.
Photoshop's Color Range function or Quick selection tool make quick work of selecting just the white back/foreground in the photo.

That's how I made these photos of a Nikon D90 using an umbrella, off camera hot shoe flash unit, and light from a large North facing window:

 

[dennisbray]

I know it might sound too simple or somewhat ineffective, but using several pieces of white paper might just do the trick. Just lay some pieces of A4 on a table, put your jewels on them and take some photos. You can easily blur out the edges of the papers using Gimp or Photoshop. I've tried this method plenty of times and it always worked for me. I'm a newbie, so please don't judge me harshly

 

[levinephoto]

hello frnzzzz....
yes,white background is a gud but white & black background is a perfect match for background......