Create a black background when photograph flowers outdoors with macro lens

<p>I like to photograph flowers outdoors. But lack techniques and practices. Please give me any tips of get a black background when photograph flowers without the help of the black card or other assistant tools.</p>

<p>Black velvet. Or shoot in lower light with nothing immediately behind the flower. Adjust shutter speed to produce a completely black image, then add light to the flower with a flash.</p>

<p>Stop down to f/16 or f/22 or f/32 (depending on your lens) at iso 100 and use a flash to light the flower</p>

<p>Find a flower with heavy shadow behind it at certain time of the day...and your flower will stand out.</p>

<p>Les</p>

<p>I typically look for deep shadows, but a black velvet screen or sheet of construction paper will work fine.</p>

<p>If you are talking about one or two blossoms, the simplest thing would indeed be the black velvet. For easy handling, just cover an 8x10 care with it and when you hold it in place behind the subject, turn it away from the light to be sure that any possible debris on the card would not show up in the light.</p>

<p>He asked "without the help of the black card or other assistant tools."<br /> Use flash using a small lens aperture. This way the ambient light exposure (background) will be very underexposed and the flower will be illuminated correctly by the flash. The background must not be immediately behind the flower, however.<br /> <br />There are other methods, too. Technique article:<br /> http://www.naturescapes.net/articles/techniques/avoiding-black-backgrounds-for-macro-photography/</p>

<p>Easiest solution is to place some sort of plain coloured material behind the flower(s) or plant. So I'm not sure why you'd want to make life difficult by denying yourself that option. However, IMHO dark green makes a more natural-looking background than pitch black. Dark green card, cartridge paper or velvet material are easy enough to come by. Although for preference, material can be folded up small enough to pop into a gadget bag.</p>

<p>As you require not to use any kind of "assistant tools" you're left with your camera and light control. <br /> As the first two comments indicate flash will be the solution and I suggest you use the camera in manual mode, underexposing strongly enough to darken the background, and the flash in auto TTL, compensating or changing the power of the flash in a way to expose the flower as you intend.<br /> Please note that the way to do it and get the best results is using an off-camera external flash.</p>

<p>"I like to photograph flowers outdoors." - Note <em>outdoors.</em><br>

You'll also need a powerful flash to get sunlight to look black, and a lens that stops down to at least f/32. Not many lenses do.</p>

<p>Think about it. An average sunlight exposure is, say, f/8 to f/11 at 1/250th second and 100 ISO. You can't use a higher speed because that's the maximum X-synch speed on most cameras. So you'd need to use an aperture of at least f/22 to get a sunlit background even two stops darker. That's not allowing for any light spill onto the background from the flash either. Consequently you need a flash powerful enough to allow an aperture of f/32 in sunlight.</p>

<p>Use a bit of dark material as a background and save yourself some bother!</p>

<p>or don't photograph in bright sun.<br /><br />This was made with a strobe in a softbox at 6:45 on June 9th in southern USA. iso 125, 1/125th sec, f25 (not 2.5... f <em>twenty five</em>) with a 105 macro Nikon. There is no additional backdrop added, actual or digital.<br /><br />you can see other plants in the background that are barely within the penumbra of the strobe/modifier... t</p><div></div>

<p>@Rodeo Joe<br>

You're right about the data you put forward.<br>

My fault, just thought about something the user may not have available and didn't mention two important details: use the flash in FP mode and high shutter speed.<br>

Your solution is an easy one and probably the best but the OP put it aside (no "black card or assistant tools").</p>

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<p>".. use the flash in FP mode and high shutter speed."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>At the risk of restarting another dispute about FP mode flash here - this simply doesn't work. The energy in the flash is fixed, and therefore it doesn't matter how fast the shutter speed gets, because the flash brightness relative to ambient stays constant.</p>

<p>For example: You have a flash exposure of f/16 @ 1/250th in X-synch mode; you then go into FP mode and find that for the same (or slightly lower) level of flash exposure you need to use f/11 @ 1/500th, or f/8 @ 1/1000th, or f/5.6 @ 1/2000th etc. It's easy to see that the ambient exposure also stays the same. So no decrease in background brightness, and basically, no point in using FP flash mode.</p>