Black background
Jun 3, 2017 07:40:57 #
Probably a dumb question but a lot of pictures of flowers and birds are shot against a black background. My question is what's the best way to achieve that effect? Especially birds in their natural settings in trees.
Jun 3, 2017 08:19:03 #
stevec32 wrote:
Probably a dumb question but a lot of pictures of flowers and birds are shot against a black background. My question is what's the best way to achieve that effect? Especially birds in their natural settings in trees.
Steve, the effect of which you speak is achieved by using an aperture to create a very shallow depth of field that blurs background. Very fast lenses allow the user to select apertures in the range of f/1.2 or f/1.4 that give extremely shallow d-o-f. By doing so the background is basically out of focus and sometimes will appear completely black. (The system has prevented me from posting a photograph that would exemplify an elimination of the background). No lectures please, the system screwed up twice.
Jun 3, 2017 09:09:21 #
Use of a flash usually get's that effect for me according to how much ambient light that I have.
Jun 3, 2017 11:27:43 #
I get the small aperture but I don't get how the background be comes so black. I guess there is no trick but to keep doing what I've been doing. Thanks.
Jun 3, 2017 13:29:09 #
You need to find a dark background, and have more light on your subject, like shooting the flowers in sunlight or use flash, and have the background be somewhat dark and in the shade. If you are doing closeups of flowers, you could use a sheet of black paper behind them. If that doesn't make the background completely black, you could darken it further in post.
Jun 3, 2017 14:13:49 #
One way to do it is to start off underexposed, then tweak the image shadows and highlights in post processing. Original shot was f5.6, iso-100, 1/640 sec., handheld at 50ft. Nikon 1-J1 camera with nikon 55-300mm afs vr lens and FT-1 autofocus adapter. Equivalent focal length is 810mm.
stevec32 wrote:
Probably a dumb question but a lot of pictures of flowers and birds are shot against a black background. My question is what's the best way to achieve that effect? Especially birds in their natural settings in trees.
Jun 3, 2017 15:57:10 #
stevec32 wrote:
Probably a dumb question but a lot of pictures of flowers and birds are shot against a black background. My question is what's the best way to achieve that effect? Especially birds in their natural settings in trees.
They aren't really shot against a black background, especially birds.
Create a good mask of the subject. Create a new color fill layer and fill it with black. Move the layer with the subject to the top of the stack. If there is a good contrast and color difference between the subject and the background, the mask creation will go easier. You can do this in Photoshop, but I used On1 for this example. It took 10 secs using their Quick Mask brush to isolate the flower. In this case the mask was very clean and needed no additional edge work.
Jun 3, 2017 17:02:28 #
I do a lot of flowers with black backgrounds. For the most part, I actually use a black background behind the flowers whether inside or out. In post, I set the background as a black point to further darken it. It is a lot less work than changing out the background in post and allows you to easily keep some foliage with the flowers.
Jun 3, 2017 18:11:49 #
Jun 3, 2017 18:25:11 #
If you can pull it off, high speed sync naturally provides a dark background. You do have to get the flashes close to the subject and use a very high shutter speed. Here's one I took of a hummingbird feeding midday, lots of sun.
Jun 3, 2017 19:19:10 #
Cwilson341 wrote:
I do a lot of flowers with black backgrounds. For the most part, I actually use a black background behind the flowers whether inside or out. In post, I set the background as a black point to further darken it. It is a lot less work than changing out the background in post and allows you to easily keep some foliage with the flowers.
I've done it both ways, but to get pure black with a black velvet cloth that absorbs most of the light, you still have to do some post processing. With certain subjects creating and using a mask is far easier and faster, and there is no cleanup required on the background. What? Ten seconds to create a mask and another 5 seconds to create a fill layer with black is faster than fussing with a black background? As far as additional foliage, that just means you create a mask that includes the foliage. When you don't have close access to a flower, such as when you are shooting in a crowed place and you are by yourself, and you are not allowed to shoot with a tripod, the mask and swap background does a great job, and makes an image possible.
The Day Lily was shot at Longwood Gardens, a very popular destination and always crowded. I used a hand held speedlight with a large bounce card attached to it (9x12), and had the camera in the other hand. No tripod, no assistant, no black cloth.
Jun 3, 2017 19:19:31 #
jkatpc wrote:
If you can pull it off, high speed sync naturally provides a dark background. You do have to get the flashes close to the subject and use a very high shutter speed. Here's one I took of a hummingbird feeding midday, lots of sun.
Great shot! Good example of HSS!
Jun 3, 2017 20:11:42 #
Gene51 wrote:
I've done it both ways, but to get pure black with... (show quote)
I was actually answering the OP's question but you are correct that there are a lot of different ways to get the same end result. Different situations call for different solutions. For me, using a physical background when shooting in my garden or a studio type setting is the easiest. I'm not great with masks! The only pp I find necessary for the background is to apply a black control point to eliminate anying fading from true black that has occurred.
Jun 3, 2017 20:58:55 #
stevec32 wrote:
Probably a dumb question but a lot of pictures of flowers and birds are shot against a black background. My question is what's the best way to achieve that effect? Especially birds in their natural settings in trees.
Use a dedicated flash and set the camera to High Speed Sync and a very fast shutter speed.
Jun 3, 2017 21:32:12 #
stevec32 wrote:
Probably a dumb question but a lot of pictures of flowers and birds are shot against a black background. My question is what's the best way to achieve that effect? Especially birds in their natural settings in trees.
There are no hard and fast rules. This is the shot I use as my avatar. It was shot inside. The flower in a vase against a semi dark background and darkened in post
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