
White desk space
When it comes to book photography, nothing is simpler than grabbing a book, placing it on a white desk and snapping away. Or is it? Truthfully, you don’t need a white desk, cool as it might look. While the above photo depicts a section of my desk, I hardly take any of my book photos on my desk.
Book Photography on White Background
What we are trying to achieve is a minimalist look that accents the books we are featuring. Against a white background, there is nothing that distracts from the subjects. An example of this would be the following photo.

Book on white background
Here you can see the red of the cover of Fahrenheit pop against the white background. The contrast sets off the brightness of the book cover.
Achieving the Look
In order to achieve this result, I use an A3 drawing block. I could use white carton sheet boards, foam boards and the likes but that requires me to go hunt down a stationery or craft store that carries them. Drawing blocks are easier to come by, especially when you’re on a budget and happen to have a sister who loves to draw.

Setting up the white backgroud
All I do is open up the drawing block to roughly the centre fold and prop it up against something — in this case my bedroom door. I use a paperclip to hold the sheets of paper in place, so they don’t fall into my frames. Then I place my book(s) on the white background created by the drawing block and I’m all ready to go!
Benefits of this Method
- Top down photography is much easier because there is no need to stand on a chair to frame that photo on a table.
- Unlike a desk, boards can be moved and placed near light sources.
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Propping up boards can bounce light.
- In the above photo, the top of the book should have been darker because it’s further away from the window and so lies more in the shadow. The light turned out much more even because the white paper propped up against the door reflected the light onto the book.
- Different types of boards have different degrees of shine, which allows for experiments with reflections.If you don’t like reflections, you can choose matte boards.
- In the case of drawing blocks, if a sheet of paper has marks, just flip to another clean page.
- The materials are fairly inexpensive.
As White as White Goes
In order to capture a balanced white background that isn’t too bright on one side and much darker on the other, it’s important to find an even light source.
If you would like to know how to brighten your photos, you can refer to Georgie’s recent post on What She Reads, Drawing with Light.
I knew some bookstagramers who use white background, and they use paper carton (cardboard) or photography bacground. Thanks to you, now I knew I could use A3 drawing block. Thanks a lot, Joséphine :D
I never thought of using a drawing board. I made my own “lightbox” for blog photos recently using an old cardboard box, some bristol board, and white tissue paper. It looks like a fourth-grader’s science project, but it works :)
Lol. I can only imagine what your light box looks like XD But seriously, it doesn’t matter as long as it serves its purpose. Besides, nobody would know the difference in the final photo. Hoho.
I love all of the photography feature things these days because I really need a white background sometimes. It’s the perfect background for photography, and for someone whose only acceptable backgrounds are always wood, this tip is definitely something to try out!
I’m glad you like the photography posts, Shannelle :) I wish I had access to more wood though. Haha.
Wow! I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this one! When I read the title for this post, I was a little disappointed because I didn’t have a white desk/corner. Thank goodness I decided to read it! This tip of yours really made me happy. =) Now, I can practice minimalism for book photography. I just need to find a substitute for my white background… :)
YES! This was the while point of the post — to encourage people who don’t have white desks. I kept coming across people who lamented that they can’t take such photos because their desks aren’t white. And believe it or not, despite owning a white desk, I hardly ever use it as a background to my photos. It take too much effort to unclutter it all the time XD
You, lady, are just INGENIOUS! I never thought of this, weirdly enough. But then again, I prefer wood BUT white is always refreshing. And I love how it can reflect light which is a totally necessity when natural lighting goes haywire. FANTASTIC TIP! (I’m totally LOVING this feature of yours. Keep up the amazing work, Joséphine <3)
Thank you, Jess :) Well, I like wood too but sadly it’s not as abundant as white around here. In fact, my guess is that 95% of residential homes, no matter if private or public housing, have white walls.
I’m loving your new series/feature about photography. I love to take pictures and am always experimenting with new backgrounds or compositions and stuff. The drawing block is one I would never have thought of and I will definitely keep it in mind (thank you :D)! So simple, yet it has such an impact on the way the photo turns out in the end.
Thank you, Kaylie! I’m glad you gained a new idea out of this. Happy experimenting! :)