Need help asap! Isolating subjects in black from black background.

[jenny_benson]

<p>I am doing a shoot this weekend of newborn and mom and dad. I want a picture with a black background. They are going to be dressed in black....with the naked baby. I want everything to be black except for the skin of their faces hands and baby. I have a lighting system...and a black background but I can't ever get it to be as black as I want. Do I need to black out the room and rid it of any light but my flash? I'm just really confused on how to get it completely blacked out and I'm running out of time! Thanks for any suggestions! jen</p>

[matt_hein]

<p>I am not a studio photographer at all, but my suggestion is to get them a bit away from the background. So when you take the picture and the lights flash, the light doesn't have time to like the background. That is just my thoughts on this.</p>

[ronald_moravec1]

<p>velour paper black background. Black paper does no work unless there is a large space from the subject to background.</p>

<p>There needs to be some detail in the black clothing.</p>

[plavchak]

<p>Black paper works fine. As a matter of fact you can make a white paper backdrop turn black with the right light and camera settings. Pull the subjects away from the paper as far as you can. Use a higher shutter speed to help darken the backdrop. If you have something black like a foam board use it as a gobo to help block any light from hitting your backdrop. Any highlights from your lights that may show can be removed in post with a black brush on a soft setting. Black is easy to fix if you don't want any of the backdrop details showing. One thing about using paper. Make sure you have a smooth bend at the bottom (where back meets floor). Light will reflect there if there is too sharp of a bend. But like I said, it's an easy fix with the brush if you are after pure black.<br>

Do you want any detail in the clothing? If the subjects have dark hair you need to use sometype of kicker or hair light to pull them out of the backdrop a little, or it's just going to look like a face floating in midair..unless that's the look you are going for. Just pratice some before the shoot. Use a stand in (empty chair, childs doll your cat) and play around with your lights and camera settings. Be sure to write down and/or draw a picture of your set up so you can repeat it on the day of the shoot.</p>

[silverdae]

<p>Watch your fill light. Adjust its angle so that not too much light spills on the background. You don't light the background either. It seems simple, but this a common mistake made by new(er) photographers. </p>

<p>The biggest problem I've noticed when people shoot black on black is not adding some type of rim light to the subject. This is especially important if the subject has dark hair. Simply put a light where you would normally light the background and swing it around to light the backs of the subject instead of the background. It will add just an edge of detail to the subject, separating them from the background and greatly improving the look of the portrait.</p>

[jenny_benson]

<p>thanks so much you guys....jen those were some good suggestions!</p>

[mark_allen6]

<p>You've gotten lots of good suggestions. Another option that seems counterintuitive is to move your flash closer to the subject (eg, just out of the field of view). This is similar to moving them away from the background, which isn't always possible in small rooms. Moving the light closer increases the relative strength of the flash on the subject in comparison to the BG, so as you properly expose for the closer light on your subject the BG goes darker. Has to with the inverse square law which someone will probably post to great detail. Good luck!</p>

[my stuff]

<p>I might suggest a little trick I like to play with sometimes that breaks every rule in the book, sort of. Take a flash head and place it about 3 to 10 feet behind the subject and aim it directly at YOU. Side light the subject from above i.e. at around a 45° angle and meter the backlight at 1 stop hotter than the subject light "et voila"...</p>

<p>Ben :-)</p><div></div>