Everybody likes the behind-the-scenes shots (we call them pullbacks) so I thought I’d share the set up we used yesterday when we had 10 adoption photo sessions.  Normally I wouldn’t use the same background for all of them but I wanted to see how much variety I could get using just one set up.  The last little guy was white and smart as a whip.  I thought this would make a good example of a white on white shot.

As you can see, you can vary the color of the background from white to gray just by pulling your lights back , or even turning the power down. This is NOT my standard high key set up, because I usually use TWO lights on the background turned down low. But on this day I wanted the background to go a little gray.  If you expose these shots properly, you will not lose detail in the dog’s fur and you create a nice bright scene with few distractions.  We love adding the bow ties or the toys for a pop of color.  If you’d like to learn how to use studio lighting or just need an opportunity to practice and figure out what type of lighting system you need — sign up for our Studio Lighting Unleashed workshop this summer.  July 10-12 at Teresa Berg Photography in Dallas. Cost: $995. Lunches provided.  Two full days of playing with lots of different lighting equipment and shooting with live models!  It’s lots of fun.  Email for more information: teresa@teresaberg.com

Hopefully these shots will give you the inspiration to start practicing with a white background which is the absolute best way to show off a dog with a dark face!