White On White Tutorial

by `RockstarVanity




Who is this tutorial for?
This tutorial is aimed at people who understand and are comfortable using the manual setting on their camera, preferably a DSLR or DSLR-type which can shoot in RAW format.

Experienced photographers will probably find this a little simplistic and if you've been shooting for a while you'll most likely have settled into your own method for creating white-on-white images which may differ somewhat from my own technique.  Artists who are new to photography may not recognise some of the terms used.  If you're one of those artists, you are welcome to leave a comment or send me a note and I'll do my best to talk you through any of the bits you're not 100% sure about.


Choose a sunny day and position your model
Ideally, you will be working with a camera which can shoot in RAW (not strictly essential, see final paragraph) and if you've got limited lighting equipment, the best thing to do would be to work on a sunny day and shoot inside right next to a window with the model facing the window so lots of light falls on them.  Put a white (cream or light beige would work too) sheet or curtain behind the model.  It's probably be a bit of a squash cause you'll need to get yourself between the subject and the window too, but that's all part of the fun.


Apply suitable make-up
If you're doing portrait work, have the model wear dark colours of make-up anywhere that you want to appear strong in the photo.  I prefer sticking to only eyes or only lips, for example LOTS of black eyeliner or LOTS of deep red lipstick but no blush or bronzer.  Even out skin-tone as much as possible and keep it matte if you can.  Foundation and powder are very useful.  Obviously for full-on white-on-white impact it helps if you're shooting a subject with pale skin and blonde hair.


Over-expose your shot
Now, you'll need to over-expose the shot slightly but don't worry because once you get stuck into the RAW processing it will all come together nicely.  When you look at the screen on the back of your camera everything should look over-blown and pale but the dark areas (eyes, lips, whatever you've chosen to keep dark) should be clearly visible.


Go lighter and darker, just to be sure
If it's your first time doing this, you might want to shoot a slightly darker version and a slightly lighter version of the photo, using faster and slower shutter speeds.  This also helps to avoid problems caused by the difference between how the photo looks on a big computer screen and how it looks on the tiny little camera screen.


Desaturate a little
Load your photo into the RAW processor and decrease the saturation just enough for everything to be uniformly soft and pale but not so much that it takes on the appearance of a black and white photo.  I like to keep the image saturated enough to maintain a little eye colour and a subtle fleshy tone to the lips (if you haven't used the lips as a focal point and have chosen to keep them pale, of course).


Darken the shadows
Now you'll need to increase the depth of the shadowed areas and blacks.  There's no right or wrong way to do this because it will change from image to image.  You can also burn in a little more depth of colour in the dark areas once you've finished RAW processing.  You may or may not need to do this and it's pretty much down to personal taste.


Experimenting outdoors
If you're lucky enough to have a white wall to shoot against outside, by all means take your model and camera out on a sunny day.  Natural light outside on a sunny day will be bright enough to allow you to shoot at a low ISO and avoid digital grain, as will bright sunlight coming through a window.


Things to remember
Remember that the closer the model is to the source of light, the more uniformly blown-out the skin-tone will be because when the source of light is strong and close enough it will actually prevent certain details from being recorded by the camera.  High levels of light will bleach out detail in the skin creating a very smooth appearance.


Other options
I'm sure this could all be done using a flashgun but I've never tried it.  Diffused studio lighting is ideal (using the same technique, but substitute window for lights), but if you don't have access to that, the sun is your best friend.  And if you have no option but to shoot in jpeg or don't have access to RAW processing software, you will no doubt be able to create a very similar effect in post-processing with a little playing and experimentation.  Have fun!