Painting a studio

[Brian K]

So I want to use a rather large and bare wall as a background. Naturally I want it to be white. I could just go and purchase white paint but it seems to me that the true "whiteness" of my studio wall would depend on the lighting conditions and the color cast of the lights illuminating it. How would I adjust for that when deciding what color to paint the wall? Is it just "the whiter the better"?

PS I didn't know which forum this question belonged in. There is a "Location and Travel" forum which is dedicated to locations outdoors, but not a "Studio Photography" forum?

Cyrus the color is a personal choice. If you feel that most often you will be shooting on a white background then go white. The paint itself however if you want to insure the smoothest and cleanest white then use ceiling paint. While it is the most fragile of painted surfaces it's also the flattest flat and will hide most errant textures or imperfections in your wall.

Also if you plan to shoot often on white and don't want the background to create a soft edge around your subjects then consider hanging black fabric or black foamcore panels just out of frame but as close to your subject as you can and slightly behind them. This will create a clean sharp edge between the subject and the background.

[Peter De Smidt]

Light gray is more versatile than white. It's true that you can make a background any color depending on lighting and exposure, but in a modest sized room, there will always be spill. It's very easy for a white background to get blown out, which sometimes you want, but other times you don't. A light gray background is easy to make white by raising the light level on it, and it's easier to make it looking darker than a white background in a limited space studio. It also tends to make more saturated colors if you gel the lights hitting it, for the same reason that many high end movie projection screens are a light gray.