How to get pure white backgrounds

Give studio shots the professional look with Lightroom’s new masking tools

- Sean McCormack

The white background – a must for LinkedIn headshots and Amazon products – is a Holy Grail for new studio photographers. Lighting a background to pure white in the studio, though, can mean that the background itself becomes a light source. You can get blowback, where the edges of your subject fade into white and lose all edge detail. It takes time to perfect – and when you’ve a lot of headshots or products to shoot, that can mean a lot of additional work. Fortunately, Lightroom’s new Masking tool can help.

For the best results, use a white background and position the subject close to it. You may perceive the background as white at this point, but really it’s light grey – and your aim is pure white. Use a soft light for the subject, but try to avoid having too much visible shadow.