Hi all,
Advise/suggestion from you flash guys and gals out there,as to what's the best/reasonably price backdrop where I desire the darkest / black effect
G
I use black velvet (doesn't need to be ironed either)
cheapest black cloth you can get, and underexpose it a stop or two
Black velvet works best. Used it in my studio for many years.
What are you shooting? For larger subjects, keep the background as far away from the lighting as possible.
It’s possible for gray or even white background to go black if you have enough room. I use black seamless paper.
For closer things, black velvet works great. I think you can get it in sheets with a paper backing.
siamesecatmanuk wrote:
Hi all,
Advise/suggestion from you flash guys and gals out there,as to what's the best/reasonably price backdrop where I desire the darkest / black effect
G
No backdrop is needed to get a black background in an image. If there is nothing close behind the subject, the flash will light the subject and not the background.
Mike
Blenheim Orange wrote:
No backdrop is needed to get a black background in an image. If there is nothing close behind the subject, the flash will light the subject and not the background.
Mike
I accept what you say and the others all valid comments I am after black,but my problem is I simply don't have room to move subject far enough from the rooms natural background to get it black completely,hence I asked for the best material to go black or absorb actual light,I have just found something on eBay the seller says is black AND actually absorbs light,is that possible?
It's not cheap so would rather know if not to save my money for something better !
domcomm wrote:
Black velvet works best. Used it in my studio for many years.
Is that just bog standard black velvet? Is that as good as advertised photographic black backdrops ?
Graham
siamesecatmanuk wrote:
I accept what you say and the others all valid comments I am after black,but my problem is I simply don't have room to move subject far enough from the rooms natural background to get it black completely,hence I asked for the best material to go black or absorb actual light,I have just found something on eBay the seller says is black AND actually absorbs light,is that possible?
It's not cheap so would rather know if not to save my money for something better !
Getting the room's natural background black is a function of the settings on the camera. Set the camera so that the room is black - faster shutter speed, smaller aperture. Move the flash closer to the subject. Some combination of those will work. Of course, I don't know what your subject is. If your subject filled the room - a car in a small garage for example - then it would be more of a challenge. When shooting smaller objects with off camera flash, it is almost impossible to <i>not</i> have a black background and there recently was a discussion in the True Macro section here about how to avoid black backgrounds.
Mike
siamesecatmanuk wrote:
.....the seller says is black AND actually absorbs light,is that possible?....
Black indicates an absence of reflected light, which in turn means that the light is being absorbed, not reflected. In other words anything black absorbs light. Matt black will avoid the problem of reflections from shiny surfaces.
The cost of any material does not necessarily reflect its light-absorbing qualities so you may well find a cheap material that does a fine job. I suspect that the distance doesn't have to be pronounced before the background-darkening qualities are sufficient, just far enough to avoid direct illumination.
R.G. wrote:
Black indicates an absence of reflected light, which in turn means that the light is being absorbed, not reflected. In other words anything black absorbs light. Matt black will avoid the problem of reflections from shiny surfaces.
The cost of any material does not necessarily reflect its light-absorbing qualities so you may well find a cheap material that does a fine job. I suspect that the distance doesn't have to be pronounced before the background-darkening qualities are sufficient, just far enough to avoid direct illumination.
Black indicates an absence of reflected light, whi... (
show quote)
Thank you your replies,most informative, I have some black advertised material coming will post what that produces with different lighting set ups.
Graham
Black dress velvet from fabric store.
Eddy Vortex wrote:
I use black velvet (doesn't need to be ironed either)
Velvet or Valour are the worst choice's!!!!! if the light hits it a even a slight angle it shows a rust color. Been there done that. There are many other choices that work and are cheaper I used a heavy weight fire retardant muslin once hung and steamed to get the wrinkles from shipping out it was fantastic and it comes in 110" widths.
The next choice is Seamless background papers by Roscoe or Supreme
Gene51
Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
siamesecatmanuk wrote:
Hi all,
Advise/suggestion from you flash guys and gals out there,as to what's the best/reasonably price backdrop where I desire the darkest / black effect
G
The important thing is to use your lights very close to your subject leveraging the inverse square law for light falloff, low ISO and high shutter speed to minimize the effect of ambient light (or just use a dark studio), and use either barn doors or a flag or two to keep light off the background. The difference in reflectivity will turn that background dark, and a little post processing will complete the blackout look.
This video explains how to do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr8fKJhlaqoThis video explains the inverse square law:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO-J42VM448Some more ideas for lighting management:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IanT3zZ4E00https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9oN1tw-ao0What material you choose for the background is less important than your lighting placement - but the key is to keep the light off the subject, and preferably shoot in a darkened room.
This image shows a Bird of Paradise flower, shot on location at New York Botanical Gardens, using a hand-held and flagged speed light. The first is the image out of the camera, the second involves a little post processing to remove any remaining background. The flash was about 8 inches from the flower, and the lighting was bright ambient. Needless to say, there was a lot of greenery behind the flower.
siamesecatmanuk wrote:
Hi all,
Advise/suggestion from you flash guys and gals out there,as to what's the best/reasonably price backdrop where I desire the darkest / black effect
G
Black Velcro as used on walls of trade show booths.
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