For those of you who don’t know, cyc is short for cyclorama. They are in most professional studios and have replaced the seamless paper almost entirely. Why? Because with a cyc, you have complete control over your background. A cyc is where the corners and seams are not visible. Cycs normally cover two sides of the studio. Assuming that your model is far enough away from the cyc, lighting can be controlled so that the background effect can be light or dark. Colored lights, cukaloris and other patterned screens can be used on the cyc to create interesting background effects. When lit evenly, the smooth surface, even as it goes around the corner of a studio, can provide an “infinity effect” — an endless space behind the models.
You can either light the cyc or not light the cyc. I will show you the difference. To achieve an “infinity effect”, I light the background with 4 light heads. 2 on each side. They are angled at a 45 degree angle to hit the background evenly. I use V flaps behind my lights to control flare and spillage onto the set.
This shot is using the 4 lights on the background effect:
As you can see, there is no shadow on the background. It is a smooth, endless appearing background.
If you want to create a black background, obviously just don’t light the background at all. With your main key lights that will be lighting the model, make sure you flag the light off the background so there is no spillage behind the subjects. In this shot, I photographed a different model on a different day but on the same exact cyc. There is just no lighting on the cyc, whatsoever.
Again, the model is far enough from the background but this time it is not as important than if I had lighting on the background because I don’t have to worry about spillage from either my key on to the background or my background light spilling onto the set, thus interfering with my lighting on the model.
For mood, you can create a gradient on the background, giving the effect that the background is indeed there but not competing with the model or the overall impact of the image. You can try throwing one light on the background to create a splash of light across the back or you can use lights from different angles, I’ve even placed a light head on the floor and pointed it up toward the background to create an interesting effect. This is a shot where I used one head on the background in order to create a silhouette effect behind my models:
The key point of interest is around the faces of the young men I photographed. In order to bring the viewers eye to that point of interest, I lit the cyc at that particular angle so it backlit the models and created more detail.
With lighting a background or cyc, you need to experiment. Try 4 lights, then 2 lights. Meter your background and try different exposures. I get about a 1 to 1 1/2 stop ratio between my background and my key light when I intend to blow out the background and create the infinite seamless white background. When I go totally black, I just make sure I flag everything off from my key lights so there is no spillage.
One thing I would stress is that there is no “right” way. It’s entirely up to the photographer’s eye and taste on what he/she is trying to achieve. There are all kinds of formulas, all kinds of mathematics and theories out there. I’m a photographer, not a mathematician. You can go to DPreview for that kind of technical stuff. I just know what looks good and I learned that by trial and error. I will leave you with one last example. The two shots below are from a shoot I did for Universal Records in NYC back in April 2008. I shot the band Heavy Mojo. We were going for a white background effect with the band. I got it. Then I wanted to shoot the lead singer for my own personal work and he agreed. I turned off my background lights, put a beauty dish on my one key light and placed him pretty much directly under it. Here are the two lighting effects, same model, same cyc, different background lighting. And of course, a different key light.
All Images ©2008 Melissa Rodwell Photography LLC.
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John Waiblinger
September 18, 2008this is actually very interesting (and beautifully illustrated)and has given me some very interesting insights into some of the stuff I try to do with Photoshop … i think what is most interesting are your statements while there are alot of technicalities involved (the mathematics, so to speak) in the end, the art is really in the eye and judgement of the artist … one of the challenging aspects of the work is knowing how to direct the technicalities to provide what the artist eye wants to show … this is still very much a challenge for me, and I work via trial and error, but I KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT!
thanks for the insights.
Songvut Kositarut
September 20, 2008Thanks for this article. This is very helpful for me.
Ben Bridges
September 22, 2008These are awesome! Maybe you could throw in some setup shots though. I’d be very interested in those.
Ben Bridges
September 22, 2008These are amazing pictures!
Could you start throwing in some set up shots. I’d really like to see those!
admin
September 22, 2008Yes Ben, for sure, I will be posting video tutorials as well, so you will be able to see all my lighting schemes in those, stay posted!
Art Hall
September 24, 2008Thanks. This was very educational. Something that I really needed. Appreciate the way you make it so easy to understand.
Luhura
September 25, 2008I love this blog!Looking forward to your vids.
admin
September 25, 2008Thanks, Luhura! I will be shooting a behind the scenes video tomorrow on a fashion shoot. So check back soon!
Adam White
September 25, 2008I shoot with a cyc wall at the studio I rent…I love it. This is the only tutorial I have seen on the cyc. Very informative. I too am looking forward to more from you. Thank you.
Will
September 26, 2008Some great shots and an interesting post, but agree that some set-up shots would help to illustrate how you’ve got everything fitting together.
STEVE DEVLIN
September 26, 2008Beautiful photos, just found your blog and I’m glad I did, looking forward to reading more… Thanks and keep up the good work!
Pau
October 2, 2008es estupendo todo tu blog. la verdad q ayuda bastante a la gente como yo.
Andriy
October 7, 2008You just confirmed once again that there is no right and wrong. There is your idea and your taste.
Pelayo
October 9, 2008Thanks for helping us in fashion photography. I’ve discovered this blog seeing your profile at flickr and I liked it very much. Regards, Pelayo.
Tracy
October 16, 2008this might be a dumb question…but what color was the background with your female model originally? Was it already white and the lighting u used just made it more seamless…?
geoff
October 24, 2008It might be nice if you could pull back and show a picture of the whole cyclorama for those of us who have never seen one. Is it just walls or does it curve from the floor into the walls and up into the ceiling?
Mike Wood
November 9, 2008Seeing some set up shots would be great.
I googled cyclorama just now and came up with no hits related to photography in the first few pages, is that a generic term or an actual brand name product? I was trying to determine if it was a specific material that reacts to light differently depending on the source and strength of the light.
admin
November 9, 2008Hey Mike! If you google photography cyclorama you’ll get better results. It’s normally referred to as a “cyc”. Pronounced “sike”. Or “psych”. I am not sure if it’s a brand name or not. It’s not the material that determines what a cyc is, it’s the rounded shape that gives an infinity look to what or who you’re shooting on it. I am sure there are pictures of it somewhere on the internet. And I will definitely be doing more tutorials in the future and you’ll see me shoot on a cyc. Just stay tuned!!! Thanks for the comments, both of them.
Manuel Minino
November 10, 2008Cool!! I REALLY like this blog!
by now, i’m playing with seamless.. wel fabric, not paper. This post has been very inspirational to me… i’ve tried some math and formulas and technical stuff, and at the end, always end up doing it like Frankie said My Way!!
I will build my own “cyc” soon in my studio!
—thanx a lot!!—
Roger Mann
November 11, 2008Hi Melissa
I’ve only just discovered this particular blog – typical Brit! I’m intrigued about your comment on lighting the model only to create a black background from a white cyc. I work with a portable Colorama paper system, not as professional but intrisically the same idea. I have light grey and a blacks rolls and interchange them for different levels of background tone. From what you say, as long as I keep my lighting specific and focussed on the model, the background will be black even with the light grey Colorama background assuming the model is far enough forward to facilitate that. Wow! Eureka! The things you learn from a blog!
Am I reading this right?
laura - dolcepics
November 18, 2008This is the first I’ve heard of a cyc! Such a great article… thanks for donating your time and expertise to help us learn! It’s going to take me a while to catch up with all your articles!
Ashtray
July 14, 2009Very interesting article… found this while searching for Photoshop tips… keep up the good insights and articles..
Rhonie
January 8, 2010Thanx for the help! No more post?
Salvador Avila
December 26, 2010I always read and heard that 3 lights system for portails photo was the rule, I always try to light the cyc with 3 lights, tired of not get the results I would like, I use 4 lights ; one on the ceiling (for lighting the CYC) two lights on the side of the subjetc, (one each side) and the four light 45° from the face of the subjet, so finnaly i got the result i was looking for. so now you comfirm i was right. thanks.
Diamonds Factory Studio
February 19, 2011Thanks for great article. Could You recommend any affordable cyclorama system?
DJH
May 19, 2011Cool. One of the 1st things I learnt but over at zarias but this is another welcome addition. Is it true that to get the right exposure the background and back of subject should be 1 stop apart…