How far should you place a model from the background?

Wednesday 5 August 2026, 16:32 by Elja Trum | 1,246 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

How much distance should you leave between your model and the background? It sounds like a simple question, but the answer mainly depends on the result you want to achieve. In this video, Gavin Hoey shows how much difference just one or two metres can make to your portraits.

Gavin photographs model Chloe in three different positions: directly against the background, one metre away and two metres away. The key light and the exposure on the model remain as much the same as possible. Yet three clearly different images are created.  Against the wall, you get a simple, striking photo with a visible soft shadow. At one metre away, the background becomes darker and there is room to render it out of focus. With two metres of distance, Gavin has even more control. The background becomes almost black, allowing him to light it again with a second flash.  By using a grid or a colour filter, he can then create a subtle pool of light, a vignette or a coloured background.  A small change in your model's position turns out to be a simple way to create completely different portraits in the same space and with almost the same equipment.

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