backdrop questions

[snunicycler]

my church youth group asked me to design a backdrop that people will have their picture taken at for this fundraiser valentines day banquet that they are having. i went over a bunch of ideas in my head and i got this crazy idea that i think would work but i cannot find any advice online or anything. my idea is this:

i want to display some images from a projector or an overhead projector onto a plain white sheet which would be set up behind the couple getting their picture taken.
essentially, the projector (p) would be behind the sheet (s) and the couple would be in front of it

[ p ]< image {s} :hugs: couple (in front of the sheet)

right now, the photos are going to be taken in the nursery. the problem is that there are a lot of flourescent lights in the room and it is pretty bright so i dont know if the image will even show up because of the rest of the lights polluting the area, and if the photographer uses a flash it will be even worse. any ideas? thanks

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

This is actually an old idea, and photographers have been doing it for decades.

I don't think you could put the projector 'behind' the sheet...unless it was almost transparent. You would put the projector close to where the camera will be...but just out of the way enough, so that you can project onto the backdrop without hitting the people.

The less 'light pollution' you have, the better. So could you just turn off the fluorescent lights?

 

[snunicycler]

thanks for the speedy reply and the welcome!
i can turn most of the lights off but there are a few "safety lights(?)" in the room that will not turn off. it would be quite a bit darker though. what would i need to light the faces? would a flash, even if bounced, make the background look either washed out or too dark?

 

[Big Mike]

I would suggest that you use flash to light the subject...and it would probably help if the subjects were as far away from the background as you can get them (within reason). This way, the flash will have little or no affect on the background. Light fall off is an inverse square of the distance...so if you have your flash rather close to the couple but far from the background...it will be better.

I would put the camera into manual mode and adjust the aperture for the flash exposure of the couple and adjust the shutter speed for the exposure of the background.