the white backdrop

The lovely actress, Vanessa Parent-- most recently seen in the new web series, The Jim Show.
http://www.thejim.tv/

and of course, The lovely kitty, Jewel ( my first real pet ever).

It's very rare that you will find a white backdrop in my portfolio. In fact, Generally I'm opposed to the idea of bringing in a backdrop at all (unless it's for a product or food shoot). The way I see it, the world around us is filled with interesting natural and man made textures and colors that can be controlled with light, aperture and composition. Maybe I just like the problem solving aspect? But I don't happen to like looking at a portfolio when it's obvious that the photographer shoots everything the same way.
In this particular shoot, the graphic designer requested a white backdrop so that Vanessa could easily be cut and pasted into another scene.

A pristine white backdrop is easier to create than expected, as shown in the above image, I just used a wrinkly old fabric! and I didn't even steam or iron it.
So how does it look flawless behind this adorable pair?
It's all in the light!!!
The backdrop gets it's own light + the key light on Vanessa creates cumulative lighting that overexposes the white until it appears flawless. The rule is if the backdrop is at least 2 stops over the exposure of the subject it should look pretty clean!
Traditionally, Photographers will flag the background light to create separation. In this case, I wanted to go for a bit of an ethereal look... that makes Vanessa's hair appear so soft and also provides a nice subtle rim light.

The neat thing is that the fabric wouldn't even have had to be white!!! I could have use a gray one and still achieve a white backdrop just by pumping so much light onto it.