I'm going to shoot actors (caucasian skin tones) in white cloth, in studio, on a black background.

We all know that white cloth is not the best in video...

Does anyone has any advice about lighting or perhaps camera settings ?

I am shooting in HD. Thanks a lot, Paolo.

Experiment with the SPOTLIGHT setting and make sure you use your zebras.

Thanks Adam I will try the SPOTLIGHT setting.

Will you say that I should use the zebra at 70 % and get the highest tone of the skin tone just starting to get zebra ?

In general, I 'll say it's better to have the skin tone with a good exposure and the white clothes a little over exposed, am I right?

Or should I expose the white clothes right and get the skin tone a little under exposed?


Thanks, Paolo.

In general, I 'll say it's better to have the skin tone with a good exposure and the white clothes a little over exposed, am I right? Or should I expose the white clothes right and get the skin tone a little under exposed?
Matter of taste I guess, I would not overexpose anything. On the contrary, I would set my zebra to 85 or 90 and let nothing go above.

Either way, it's going to be a heck of a difficult shot to edit. To Adam's advice I would add, try using actual spotlights on the talent's face and minimize the brightness of the white clothes.

I think either way would probably work. You should probably experiment a bit to see what's easiest to handle in post. I agree with Ervin that I'd go darker rather than lighter. Once the highlights are blown out there's no way to get them back.

Did some test tonight. I'll try all this tomorrow morning! I agree with the too dark better than over exposed concept. Thank a lot. Paolo.