Black backgrounds are exactly opposite of white background when it comes to technique. Instead of lighting the background for a 1-2 stop over exposure, the point is under exposure. The key lighting is the same, but fill is often needed as well as a hair and rim light to separate the subject from the background. By keeping all light from directly or indirectly hitting the background you'll get an even background. If you want gradation, a flash unit on a low power can do the trick. Here's a couple more examples of some of this season's high school seniors all shot on a black background.
Irene, this is GREAT! Thanks for sharing the super tutorials! LOVE the diagrams of the lighting set-up, something so many tutorials lack- which makes no sense to me.
ReplyDeleteFound you on the DPS site in the P365 article.
I'm new to photography, and really love it. I'm eating up these great ideas. Just starting to do some portraits mostly outside, natural light only... looking forward to doing some studio stuff someday!
@Vikkijac
ReplyDeleteThank you! There is more where this came from. I'm just a month into my 365 blog. My only worry is that I'll run out of stuff to post about. When every post is about my dog you'll know I've hit the limits of my creativity and skill.