How to get complete white background in pictures

[evonna_21]

I have a canon sx520 camera. I have tried multiple settings, turn the flash off but yet my pictures always seem to have a grey background. I'm trying to take pictures of products without having to edit each one in photoshop. I have two 100 Watt photography lights, softbox, tripod, photography soft lights. I have tried it without a softbox and still my pictures have a grey background. Do I need an extra light, maybe a flash. This is my first camera and really want to put it to good use.  How do I get a white crisp background of my object and it not be so dark. Also, when I try to take a picture on my tripod. The letters on my book are a little blurry. I've tried manual, auto, p, and having bad luck taking photos of products. 

[cicopo]

The white background fools the light meter which expects a slightly grey background. This is a real problem when snow makes up a large part of a scene. The camera needs to overexpose slightly to quite a bit depending on just how bright the scene actually is. YOU have the option to do that by either using exposure compensation or shooting full manual & trying 1/3 stop increases in over exposing from the base setting the camera will say is correct.

[ScottyP]

Exactly.

Exposure compensation of 1 to 1.5 stops is usually about right for a snowy scene. Not sure about a phone book on a white background but experiment until you get it.  

Incidentally, a lot of your subject is out of focus. You need a smaller aperture opening in the lens to give a greater depth of field in focus if you want more of it to be in focus (more of the closer part and more of the farther away part).  Aperture opening size is measured in f/stops. Confusingly, the higher the f/number the smaller the opening.  Try shooting at f/16 and you can tinker with it from there. 

For that small an opening, you will need even more light.  Fortunately your subject is inanimate and not moving, so you can set as long a shutter opening time as you need to collect enough light as long as the camera is on a solid tripod. 

Keep the the tripod still by using the 2 second delay shooting mode. Pressing the shutter can wiggle the camera a little even in the tripod. Set a 2 second delay and the camera and tripod will have gotten over any disturbance cased by your finger by the time the shot is taken. 

[evonna_21]

How do I get a smaller aperture. Is that the f settings. 

[evonna_21]

My camera only goes to f8. 

[cicopo]

Yes re F stop. Aperture numbers are F stops. Higher numerical number = smaller opening & more Depth of Field.

[evonna_21]

If my camera only uses f8. How much more light do I need? Do I need a flash too.? Thank you everyone for replying.

[ScottyP]

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@evonna_21 wrote:
If my camera only uses f8. How much more light do I need? Do I need a flash too.? Thank you everyone for replying.

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I didn't realize you have a powershot.  I looked it up and you are right; f/8 is as small an aperture as you can dial in.  Your depth of field should actually be pretty deep even at f/8 because the powershot sensor is relatively small.  F/8 might be deep enough.  Perhaps you just didn't have focus right in that sample shot.

If you need to you can make it easier on the camera to get enough depth of field if you will position long things so you are looking at them more square-on, so everything on the object will be about the same distance from your camera. The sample shot is set up almost the opposite, shooting along the length of the book, so you have part of the subject in the foreground and part in the background.

[evonna_21]

Do I need to buy a flash and more lights. If so how much more lights should I buy. Thanks

[ScottyP]

If you are shooting still things and you have a tripod, you have the luxury of time. Because your subject isn't moving, and your camera is held still, you could shoot a 30 second exposure if you really wanted to. So what I am saying is you don't necessarily need brighter light because you can shoot a longer exposure and get more light that way. 

Try and and see if you can get the white background following Cicopo's advice of overexposing the shot, either in full Manual mode or in AV mode. If you got more lights and did not overexpose for the white background, the camera's light meter would still be fooled by the white background and would make the white look grey again.