Photographing MOCs: obtaining a white backround

[Hive]

Well, this might be quite the rookie topic to most of you... but how on earth do you clear out the "real" backgrounds in mocs and replace them with clean, soothing white ones?

Edited August 12, 2012 by Fugazi
more descriptive title

[Nightshroud99]

I think most people buy posterboards and photograph their mocs with it as a backdrop.

[Vincent Kessels]

Indeed, I use two white A3 papers as background for my buildings.

[LEGO Historian]

One of my LEGO acquaintances in the Netherlands uses a nice blue background for some of his LEGO images.

This particular image of a 1960s LEGO glued retailer display model shows very nicely how a blue background really enhance the look of LEGO building MOCs. This particular one is so nice, that he let me use this image at the top of the Table of Contents for my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide (1949-1990s) on DVD and downloads. A very nice image indeed...

[Hive]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll try some different backgrounds.

[MikeyB]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll try some different backgrounds.

I use some cheap fabric and have duct taped it to a PVC pipe so it can be rolled up easily. I have also used a roll of paper you can find in education stores around the US it come in lot of different colors.

[Phoxtane]

My mom is a freelance professional photographer, so she has some photo lights and some backdrops I can use if I need something a bit more formal for pictures.

[Lego_Graff]

I haven't posted any MOC shots here yet but what I use is the thin foam sheets from my local craft store. I have purchased 10 different colors I think. They work nicely and you can get a seamless shot by bowing the foam upwards.

[LEGO Historian]

I guess with all the LEGO colors, using a neutral color background is probably best. That blue background image I posted is complemented by the blue and white bricks. That might not be so flattering for other colors....

[Fugazi]

Well, this might be quite the rookie topic to most of you... but how on earth do you clear out the "real" backgrounds in mocs and replace them with clean, soothing white ones?

Have a look in this MOC photography thread, you will find there some relevant tips and techniques.

[Hive]

Have a look in this MOC photography thread, you will find there some relevant tips and techniques.

Fantastic, thank you.

[LEGO Historian]

Arguably the 2 worst colors for getting good MOC images of are white and black. White, because of the brightness of the image (especially when taking flash photography), and black... due to the general problems of showing anything black.

[seawideyp]

I usually take a picture of mocs on my floor ，but sometimes I use pure colour（white or red，but the color of the background is not similar to the mocs） as the background then I can replace the background by photoshop software。

Edited July 5, 2012 by seawideyp

[brickmack]

I have a big roll of white paper (and blue paper, which I use occasionally) that is taped to my wall and table so it curves slightly. Then I take the pictures, edit out anyhing too distracting in Photoshop, and post it. I'm thinking about getting something shinier to to use as a backdrop though, since I've heard that makes whiter backgrounds.