Studio wall colors

[Al_Nowak]

You probably should avoid colors that might show up as a color cast from reflected light, especially in small spaces.

But if the wall is some distance away, say 8 to 10 feet, any acceptable neutral color should work.

All the pictures of big studios for rent I see in the magazines show white walled spaces. If 18% gray is so great why are the big rental studios white?

Another way to look at it is the inverse square law. If the wall if farther from the subject than the light source, reflections shouldn't play much role. The bouncing light will be significantly lower than the main light due to the inverse square law.

I shoot in a typical apartment living room. White walls, white ceiling, both close by. I keep the main softbox close to the subject and don't notice any reflection problems, but then I'm not photographing shiny cars, glassware, or silver tea sets. Actually, I like the light bouncing back, it provides an even shadow fill.

[hipchildreth]

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All the pictures of big studios for rent I see in the magazines show white walled spaces. If 18% gray is so great why are the big rental studios white?

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It's true, the big studio spaces are usually white. I've never seen a background cyc that was anything but snow white. A bright, reflective studio space lowers contrast and stretches the available tonal range. Dark studios have to have really big light sources to achieve the same effect. Another reason studios are white is for ambient working light. They typically have very high ceilings and to illuminate a space like that you need plenty of reflecting light or lots of harsh, powerful light fixtures.

If you bounce your main light off a big reflective wall you have a really BIG light source that produces the softest possible shadows. Light bouncing around everywhere has a similar effect by lowering contrast for maximum tonal range.

You have to know how to use that expanded tonal range to take advantage of it though and you have to mask off stray reflected light when you want to increase contrast.

The first studio I worked in was an old brick warehouse space and pretty dark, since then, only two other memorable commercial studios I've seen were dark like that. The big white spaces generally have ceiling drops or tracks for curtain surrounds so the space can be divided up for multiple sets. Grey sounds right to me but now that I think of it, out of a couple of dozen of studios I've been in, none were grey.

Of course, then you have the specialized studios that mimic home interiors, they don't hesitate to re-paint for a single shoot. And small studios can be almost anything, they're all different because they have to be adapted to compensate for not being big. There's just no substitute for lots of space if you want flexibility and efficiency.

Right now my studio is small, the walls are tan and the ceiling is white. It's blacked out and dark but it's not depressing because I light it up with a few daylight balanced fluorescent fixtures. I use black felt stuck on the ceiling with velco and 8' foam insulation panels painted black to damp stray light and reflection.

So, I guess, if I could afford anything I'd have a 60' x 40' white space with 12' or 14' ceilings a three wall cyclorama and track curtains to divy it up.

Chip

[BGPhoto]

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So, I guess, if I could afford anything I'd have a 60' x 40' white space with 12' or 14' ceilings a three wall cyclorama and track curtains to divy it up.

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Sounds like the ticket to me. White walls, with black curtains for "black out" when you need it.

[DivaPhotoandVideo]

Painting your walls 18% Grey gives you the most options.Use rollup backdrops for more colors

[cygnet]

My place is 20'x24' and I took my gray card to the paint store to match, as was mentioned previously.
Works great so far.