White backrounds for photos.

[Modeltrainman]

So, this is probably  a silly question, but how does when get a perfectly white background for photos. I tried to use a white sheet for my LEGO Ideas project, but people complained that it loked too wrinkled and gray. How can I get a good photo without specialized stuff?

[1963maniac]

One thing you can do after the picture is taken is edit it to increase the contrast. You can take the picture outside to help overexpose the white background. You see the light meter is trying to make everything gray, which is why white appears gray!

[MAB]

White paper or card, curved up so no hard corners.

[Littleworlds]

I absolutely agree. Avoid hard edges or wrinkles in the background and then crank the contrast up. That also will let colours pop out more. It may need some experimentation till the the right values are found.

[VBBN]

A proper backdrop, lighting, camera and editing are all crucial to the best photos.  If you have any interest in doing a few reviews, our reviewer academy has tutorials on creating a crisp white backdrop and we’ll help you improve your current photo abilities- 

 

[dr_spock]

You could try placing your white sheet further away, changing the depth of field so the sheet is not in focus, "blowing out" the white background with an external flash or strong light source,

[Modeltrainman]

Thank you for all the advice! I didn't know any of this! I'm no photographer!

[The APhOL]

Try to point a light at the background and a light on the subject. The one on the BG should be stronger than the one on the subject. Not too strong, otherwise you will have some kind of "glowing" effect around the subject.  Then expose for the subject and watch out for darker shades on the corners, meaning that you have to position the BG light in a different way.

[4020]

for my ebay stuff I use a cheap "one use" table tinks who are thicker Paper Material.

[MxWinters]

I use a large roll of white paper. If handled properly, it doesn't crease as easy as a fabric background and even if it does get creased, you can just tear that section off the roll. You should also avoid any sharp angles in the paper background. In other words, if you suspend your roll of paper, allow the paper of hang and curve gently onto the floor. Don't crease or fold the paper, this will be visable on your photograph.
This is the roll of paper I use.

You also need to have good lighting. It is best to have 2 identical light fixtures placed at roughly a 45° from the centre of your model. This ensures that the section of your model you are photographing has even light coverage and that any shadows caused by one light is moreless canceled out by the other light. You should also make sure that you lights have sufficient diffusion on them to scatter the light to soften any shadows that are visable.

Once you have taken your photos, you can enhance your images by using software such as GIMP. You can follow this excellent guide by @Sariel that shows you step by step how to get professional looking photos.