Experiments with Black Muslin

This mornings first attempt with black muslin background..

and the end result which requires a lot more photoshop than the white background, possibly because I did not use the backlight to get her hair outline lit up in the shot. 

Also, any dirt or blemish on the black just picks up light like that... so the trick seems to be to place the model farther away from the background when it is black.

Have to stop the experimenting for now and get back to work, errands etc.

No more holding foam boards

Child labor laws in the Narayanan household now prohibit using the little one as a "light girl" or "grip" or whatever the movie term is for a person supporting the cameraman with the lighting setup.

The lighting positions have been set after at least 20 flash photos of Jr. and the little one, who were extremely patient with daddy as he kept saying "no", "not good enough", "lets try again" etc.

Were it not for the fact that all this posing comes with the Daddy's birthday gift pacakge (pre negotiated) we would not be here within 24 hours!

You can see part of the setup here..

and the final result after minimal photoshopping..

Spent a good hour ironing the muslin cloth to take out the creases it it. One downside to ordering this online. It came nicely pacakaged like a dhoti that makes it way from India for Diwali and ends up looking like a lungi of sorts in photos because of the rectangular creases from suitcase compaction! 

Have a few more kinks to iron out and we are there!

San and the kids have made my birthday very special by getting me something that will keep me occupied and searching for perfection without leaving the house for some time.

Studio setup

The new muslin backgrounds and key light setup arrived while I was out of town earlier this week. Finally got to set it up late last night.

We now have a studio in the house that can pretty much turn night to day at the drop of a switch. 

Cowboy Studio simply rocks!

You can keep adding things to the setup over time!

This morning, my models woke up and were so surprised to see me all ready.. clicked these as they wandered in front of the muslin cloth. 

This gets pictures that give the new Portrait white look..

Cannot wait to try the black background and get some Film Noir looking shots.