Pictures of flowers with a totally black background

[bill koenig]

I friend wants some pictures taken of some orchids she grew. I've seen pictures

of flowers with a totally black background, how is this black background best

achieved?

[joseph_wisniewski]

Typically by shooting with strobes relatively close to the flower (a foot or two) and the background much farther away (say 6-10 feet).

 

It can also be done with a piece of black cloth behind the flower. That's more a "field" technique. I carry a 3 foot square of black velvet in my camera bag for just such an occasion.

[ellis_vener_photography]

Use a large piece of black cloth or background paper behind the subject . One easy way to get a black background to be blacker is to angle it away away from the direction the light is coming from .

[JAPster]

Another idea is to emulate how the movie people use a Green Cloth as a background. If you can find a bright elf-green cloth, and arrange that as your background, take the picture in digital, bring it into some program like PhotoShop, and do a global color substitution, to replace all the Green pixels with black pixels. Then save the file. That might work.

[bill koenig]

Thanks for the replys. I like the idea of using strobes, however, I don't own any studio equipment, I only have one (Nikon SB-800) and Nikon D200. I can get the flash off the camera using commander mode to ame the flash from different angles, not sure if just one flash will be enough.

At 2 to 3 feet, wouldn't the light be quite harsh? I could bouce the light off of a sheet of white foam core.

[jim_simon6]

Actually, the closer you can move the light to the subject, the softer it will be. As the light is moved farther away, its apparent size (related to the subject) will be smaller. As you move it closer its apparent size is larger (again, in relation to the subject). A larger source is softer than a smaller one. You can also use a store-bought or home-made diffuser to increase the size of the light source. If you're shooting with only 1 light, a reflector of some sort may also be useful for fill light.

 

Jim

[bill koenig]

Jim,

 

Yes, I never thought about it that way, get in close with the flash and a reflector on the other side for fill, you've given me a whole new point of view. Thanks

[lauren_macintosh]

Bill Koenig: My black background cloth is a piece of black velvet cloth shiny on back side and dull on the fuzz side :

[joseph_wisniewski]

"replace all the Green pixels with black pixels."

 

Should work like a charm, because pictures of flowers contain no unnecessary green pixels...

[dan_fromm2]

Funny, we have some orchids with green blooms.

[dzaebst]

If you use the flash up close in near-macro mode, a black background is pretty much what you'll get (unless the background is lit brightly itself by another source other than the flash). I agree with most other suggestions here, although I don't see the point of using a green background. Why not start with a black cloth and save yourself a step?

 

I would suggest using a lower power mode, such as 1/16 or less (SB800 will go down to 1/128, I believe) to avoid over-flashing the subject. Also be sure to get your flash off-camera, somewhat off to the side. This will help you to get some side-light & better texture in the subject. To avoid harsh shadows on the flower itself, I second the use of a reflector and a diffuser if necessary. Finally, consider using a reflector (but carefully) somewhat behind the flower, but out of frame, to get that "glow" effect.

[joseph_wisniewski]

Dan, it's what we call "sarcasm".

[bill koenig]

I just ordered some BLACK COMMANDO CLOTH from CHICAGO CANVAS & SUPPLY only $6.25 yard

Thanks for the reply's

[awahlster]

You don't need to use Studio flash to achieve this I have a Sunpak 433D that I use with my Canon Fd stuff and I can dial it down to 1/16th power. Works great for macro. Now with a digital setup you should be able to get the exposure dead on perfect in a few minutes of trial and error.

 

With film you might need to do a little bracketing and thinking before hand.

[awahlster]

If you really want your flower photo's to stand out try a cross polarized flash setup combined with the black background cloth!

[alex_lofquist]

I have been using a black velvet cloth about 8-12 inches behind the orchid blossoms with good results. I don't use flash as I like to see the effects of various lighting set-ups. Sometimes I use a gold reflector for fill-in. Otherwise most of the lighting is from the diffuse blue sky.

[J.W. Wall]

You can also use inexpensive black paper -- from a workshop by Dr. John Schaefer (photog, writer, educator and an Adams colleague). If you're in Tucson, his images (and much else) are worth a visit to the Desert Museum: http://www.desertmuseum.org/about/news_show.php?article=111

[Ed_Ingold]

Loose cloth is hard to control, and the inevitable folds increase the likelihood of highlights. I have used collapsible backdrops, but they are large and nearly unmanageable in even the slightest breeze. Flash is effective in supressing but not eliminating the background (the best compromise, IMO). The longer the lens, the better the background control.

 

The best technical solution I saw used at a Botanic Garden. The photographer had a 3-sided plywood box about 15 inches tall, 10 inches wide and 3 inches deep, lined with black velvet. The box was placed vertically behind the flower and had pins in the base which were pushed into the earth. A carrying handle was fasten to the back.

 

The photographer placed the background, set up a small Linhof view camera with a reflex viewer close to the ground, snapped a couple of film holders and was off - all within three minutes.

[jwallphoto]

If you're using outdoor light as fill, try setting your SB800 to TTL balanced fill flash, and dial exposure compensation, if necessary, on the camera.

[bob_bill]

Here's one nuked til it glowed from rear upper L on lightstand with black velvet bungied to tripod back about 5 feet. Flower was in shade but also in gusting wind at Daffodil Hill, CA. sb28 zoomed to 80 mm, 1/16 power, 1/250 sec. Chimped/ adjusted flash power til got what wanted.<div></div>