Help with seamless paper backdrop

[nikonusersince2007]

Hello! First time here. Great site and forum!!!

Details:
I purchased coral (pink) Savage brand seamless paper for backdrop and floordrop. I am use to cloth & have never used paper before. I cannot seem to figure out camera and lighting techniques to produce the "true" coral paper color (light baby pink); I keep getting dark pink and pinkish red tones. Your expertise is much appreciated!

My Equipment:
-Nikon D80
-2 softboxes use of continuous or strobe
-backdrop stand
-5 in 1 Reflector
-*shooting in living room with a large window with blinds that can be open or closed.
-Pink Savage seamless paper

My Experience photographing a 3 year old subject:
-Nikon D80 set on Shutter mode
-Nikon D80 pop up flash ON (USED built in camera flash)
-WB Auto
-UV lens 18-55mm
-2 soft boxes set on continuous- 1 directly in front of subject and 1 postioned 1/2 foot away from backdrop paper shining parallel (shinning directly across the backdrop paper not perpedicular or at an angle shinning on the backdrop paper)...maybe this is part of my problem?
-Left large window blinds open (very little natural light comes in directly due to covered porch directly outside that window)
-No other lights in room (no ceiling or floor lamps)
-Room has dark brown walls and white 7ft ceiling
-Forgot about using the reflector-probably use the white side.?

THE PROBLEMS:
1)The light pink (baby girl color) seamless paper appeared dark pink and almost red at times.
2) without making any changes to the camera or lights or position of my subject the shots were inconsistant every click of the shutter with regards to the dark pink color shade; never once getting the true color of the pink paper.
3) Every shot had a horrible shadow of the subject appearing on the backdrop behind the subject; even though the subject was at least 2 feet from backdrop.

Your guidance is much appreciated! Thank you

 

[cgipson1]

if the pink is look dark pink or even red.... it is probably underexposed! If you have "inexpensive" softboxes... some of them have been known to throw color also... also watch for any reflected light off the brown walls.

Put the camera in Manual... you will not get consistency in any auto modes, if even the smallest thing changes.

What kind of bulbs do you have in the "continuous" softboxes? I am betting fluorescent?

You are probably going to need to set a white balance with a grey card... Auto wont work for you here....

It sounds like you are mixing white light (flash) with green light (flourescent) or yellow light (incandescent) to light a Pink background.

 

[nikonusersince2007]

Is there any bulb on the market that would be worth purchasing for this shoot that won't alter the paper color? If not how much $ is a grey card and how does it work? I have a Sekonic light meter, but I am also triing to figure out how this works; so far the reading in natural light it has been giving me are not accurate-I have not tried it with the studio lighting yet.

Is it best to use the soft boxes in the continuous mode with camera flash or the strobe mode with sync cord and no built in camera flash?
What do you think of the way I had the 2 softboxes arranged? Should they both be in front of my subject or 1 infront and 1 behind how I had it to illuminate the backdrop?

Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

It is key that you don't mix your lighting types (colors).

You say your softboxes have 'continuous or strobe'. That's is describing the light inside the softbox. The softbox is just a hat for the light...so what lights do you have? I'm guessing that they are studio strobes with a modeling light. The modeling light is the continuous bulb, and in most cases, they aren't really meant for shooting with...they just a visual aid. Not to mention that it's unlikely to get enough power out of them, to get good exposures at good shutter speeds.
So if you have strobes, use them.
And don't mix your strobes with any type of continuous lighting, unless you can't help it (if you were outside, for example).

You have a flash meter, that's good. Use that to meter the strobes to find the correct aperture, ISO and flash power setting (camera in manual mode).

You have a meter, so you don't need a grey card for exposure, but it sounds like you need to set a custom white balance. You can use a grey card, or a white balance target, or anything that is truly color neutral. (a white piece of paper will suffice). Check your camera manual to see how to set a custom WB.

Once you have a good WB and have your exposure set correctly....your shots should look pretty accurate. But there could be a lot more to it...so we will need to see example shots.

 

[Derrel]

If the coral backdrop is too dark, you need "MORE EXPOSURE" for the background, IN RELATION TO, the amount of light that the foreground is receiving. You need to fully understand that concept. How to achieve "MORE" exposure on the background in realtion to the foreground expsure assumes that the background and the foreground are being lighted separately. Sooooo. you can either 1) add more light to the background, while keeping the light level on the subjects the same. Or, 2) you can do what is called key-shifting, and give the foreground LESS light, while keeping the background amount unchanged, and then add "more exposure" in the camera in one of three ways (Exposure Triangle).

I see you have two softboxes. Well, the background is going to need "more light" than what it has been receiving, in relationship to the amount of light the foreground has been receiving. I would try taking one light and using JUST that to light the subjects in the foreground, and then take the second light and use it to light up the background paper.

You need to stop for a second, and think about how the background is lighted and how that comprises Part 1 of the exposure; the foreground is lighted and that is part 2 of the exposure riddle. If you want a really light, pastel,delicate pink, then the background needs to be lighted rather "BRIGHTLY", and the subjects need to be lighted "DIMLY", and then the camera set for the "DIM" foreground! Presto!!! A lovely, pastel pink backdrop, perfect for babies, easter bunnies,kittens, and fairy princesses!

 

[nikonusersince2007]

I am starting to get it. When I use a piece of white paper to set my WB do I leave my camera in a different mode other than autoWB when I take a picture? I am trying to understand my manual for the Nikon D80, but it does not specify if I take the shot in custom WB mode after I set the custom WB or if once I set the custom WB I then switch to a __?__ WB mode.

Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

I am starting to get it. When I use a piece of white paper to set my WB do I leave my camera in a different mode other than autoWB when I take a picture? I am trying to understand my manual for the Nikon D80, but it does not specify if I take the shot in custom WB mode after I set the custom WB or if once I set the custom WB I then switch to a __?__ WB mode.

Thanks

If you leave it in AutoWB, you won't be using your custom WB. You take the shot of the white paper (make sure it's in the same lighting that you're using for the photos). You go into the menu where it lets you set a custom WB. You choose the photo of the white paper as your example/target.
THEN you need to set your white balance setting to use that custom setting. I'm not sure about the D90 specifically, but Nikon usually calls it 'PRE', as in pre-set WB.

But besides the WB issue, you need to control the lighting (and thus the exposure) of your background, as Derrel mentions above.