Studio Photography and Digital Backgrounds
By Fabian Barajas
The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop
5,6,7,CS, and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 and 3.
Most photographers who are serious about improving their
portrait taking skills have realized that a beautiful
background can greatly enhance their photographs.
Muslins are a very popular choice among professionals.
However, they can get very costly at several hundred
dollars each. For the professional who is well established,
this may not seem too much, but for the hobbyist, this may
be a stretch.
A less costly alternative is a digital background. With a
digital background, one can get the look and feel of a
professional looking portrait without the additional cost
of muslin.
Many Photography websites also sell digital backgrounds on
cd. In some cases…as low as $15.00 dollars for an assorted
collection. As with anything else…you usually get what you
pay for. Some of these pre-made digital backgrounds are not
worth the cd they’re printed on, but some of them are very
beautifully made. Even so, you may be wondering how YOU can
make your very own digital background. That being said, the
following information will help guide you along the way.
Okay, let’s create a digital backdrop using Adobe Elements
2.0. We will create an 8x10 300dpi (dpi = dots per inch or
ppi = pixels per inch) digital backdrop. For printing
purposes, 300dpi is strongly recommended for a high quality
print. This will also create a large file approximately
20.6megs.
Having a fast processor (Pentium 4 or Athlon XP) and at
least 256megs of ram will definitely help. Also having your
screen resolution on your monitor set to its highest
setting 24 or 32bit will give the best results.
Okay let’s begin! If you haven’t already opened Photoshop
Elements, do so now.
1. Click on File < New. When the window opens up,make
sure to set it to 8x10 inches at 300dpi.
2. Make a copy of the background layer you just created by
pressing Control-J on your keyboard. If you look at the
bottom right corner of your monitor, you should see an
exact copy of your background layer named layer 1.
3. Select the “foreground” color for your background by
clicking on the foreground square on your toolbar… the
black one. (Bottom left)
4. The Color Picker window should now be open. Select a
light red by clicking on the top right corner of the color
palette. Click ok.
5. Now select the “background” color by clicking on the
background square on your toolbar… the white one. (Bottom
right)
6. The Color Picker window should open again. Select a
darker red by clicking halfway below the lighter red you
previously chose. Click ok.
7. Now comes the fun part! Let’s put some clouds in there.
On the top of your screen, click on Filter
8. First, make sure that layer 1 is not locked! Look at
your layers palette on the bottom right of your screen. Do
you see the little black “lock” icon? Make sure that the
little white square to the left is NOT checked!
9. Okay, now press “m” on your keyboard. At the top left
corner of your backdrop, click and drag your mouse to
create a 2x3 inch square. If you do not see the ruler along
side your backdrop, press “control-r” on your keyboard.
10. Press “v” on your keyboard. Your selection should now
have little handles on all sides that you can click on to
pull to any size you want. If you do not see any handles,
click on “Show Bounding Box” at the top.
11. Click on the lower right handle in the corner and drag
and stretch it to the bottom right corner of your backdrop.
12. Double click anywhere on the red backdrop to apply the
resizing. Now press “L” on your keyboard then “control-d”.
Okay, now you should have a beautiful looking backdrop
ready to use, but wait, there is still more we can do to
take it to another level. You will be simply amazed at the
results you will be getting in the next few steps. You may
have noticed that many types of muslins on the market have
painted on them what’s known, as a “hot spot”.
What is a hot spot? A hot spot is a circular area near the
center of the backdrop that is lighter in color. Why is
this there? It allows the subject to stand out and creates
a vignette at the borders. This will greatly enhance your
backdrop. Are you ready? Okay, let’s do it!
13.On the top, click on Filter-Render-Lighting Effects.
Select “Omni” for your “Light Type” and move the slider for
your intensity to 25. Now click on the middle handle in the
circle and raise the circle just above the halfway point to
where the person’s head will appear.Click ok.
Now you should have an amazing looking backdrop!
Fabian Barajas is author of several Photoshop ebook
tutorials including "How to Create Your Very Own
Professional Looking Digital Backdrop!" His website which
includes samples of his work is http://www.digital-background.net/
