How to create a pure black background

The above parameters: shutter:1160second aperture: F5.6 focal length: 90MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: spot metering.

I saw someone on the Internet make a classic summary of the level of photography technology, saying, "First-class level plays with brains, second-rate level plays with technology, and third-rate level plays with equipment". It really makes sense for us to think about it. Photography is not a simple "copy" of natural objects, but an artistic thinking creation, relying on the mind behind the camera. Everyone who has a camera wants to take good photos that everyone likes. It can be asserted that if you don't think about it, you will never achieve its ideal shooting effect and goal.

The above parameters: shutter: 1/200 seconds aperture: F6.3 focal length: 105MM sensitivity ISO:500 exposure compensation: EV- 1 white balance: automatic metering: unknown.

The knowledge of photography is the knowledge of using up light, which is the essential problem of photography technology. The application of backlight in photography is more complicated, which is why it is more interesting. If you can make good use of it, it will really make the photos have a unique effect. Backlight can make the subject have a strong contrast, black background can obviously contrast the perspective of translucent plants and flowers, highlight the vein and texture of branches and leaves, and strong color contrast can show many delicate details.

The commonly used methods of taking photos with all-black background are simply as follows.

Borrowing props, underexposure, shutter speed.

1: Borrow props: Just hold a black umbrella or black cloth in your hand. Just put the black umbrella or black shade behind the subject (the object you want to shoot). When macro or close-up, the aperture is relatively large, and the background naturally becomes blurred and completely black. The photo below, the background is black flannel, obviously, you can see it!

The above parameters: shutter:1125 second aperture: F5.6 focal length: 135MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV- 1 white balance: automatic metering: central average.

2. Correct exposure: measure the subject with aperture priority mode. The photometric target is the brightest place of the object you want to shoot. At the same time, set the exposure compensation minus about one file value. In this case, the background will be underexposed and turn black.

The above parameters: shutter:1120s aperture: F4.5 focal length: 90MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV- 1 white balance: automatic metering: central evaluation.

3. Adjust the shutter speed and use a high shutter: focus on the subject. Then take a photo of the courier with a flash. In this case, the flash will make the subject fill light very white and put it into the camera. However, because the shutter is too fast and the background is not bright enough, the camera cannot be sensitive.

The above parameters: shutter: 1/250 seconds aperture: F5.6 focal length: 35MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: spot metering.

4. Choose a dark place for the background: This is similar to borrowing props, except that the props are changed according to the shooting environment of the scene. The subject with obvious contrast with the background should have a dark background, and the subject should be directly illuminated with light. Pore size is preferred. My experience is that the aperture should not be too large, and the main lighting part should be measured. Shadows are used as the background in composition, that is to say, the background is actually leaves or branches, but the flowers are in a good light position, so the contrast of the background will be great. At this time, the background will be blurred by the depth of field control, and it will be black. As long as there is a large light ratio and the light is measured in a bright place, the background will naturally be black.

The above parameters: shutter: 1/200 seconds aperture: F5.6 focal length: 400MM sensitivity ISO:320 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: weighted metering.

In fact, there are many ways to darken the background. These are the simplest methods. In fact, it's best to borrow an umbrella or a black shade cloth. Another advantage of borrowing props is that you can choose any background color you want. For example, I want an all-green background and so on.

Here are some examples of plants and flowers photographed in natural light on a black background.

First, the performance of the subject under the background of backlit black.

1. shooting instructions:

There are several Chinese rose seedlings on the windowsill at home, none of which are as vibrant as the photo above. I took this photo because I thought of taking some plants and flowers often. How can I take better photos? For a long time in the past, I didn't do some experiments on the use of light, and I didn't sum it up seriously, so I think we should do some experiments on the application of backlight. On the basis of accumulating certain experimental experience, some regular characteristics and methods are found out in order to be better used in shooting practice in the future.

The above parameters: shutter:1160second aperture: F8 focal length: 75MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: weighted metering.

2. Shooting skills:

The following picture was taken in an indoor window with natural backlight and macro mode. The black reflector blocks and forms a black background. In order to ensure clarity, the camera is mounted on a tripod and shot with a two-second countdown timer. Exposure time: 1/200 s aperture value: 2.8 exposure procedure: normal procedure ISO speed: 100. Post-production is cut according to the composition part thought of when shooting, and the color scale, curve and sharpening are adjusted.

The above parameters: shutter: 1/200 seconds aperture: F 16 focal length: 105MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: spot metering.

3. Shooting summary:

Through the observation of the photos, the objects photographed under the backlight black background have good tone texture. The water drops on the leaves can be seen clearly under the sunlight, and there are high reflection points to reflect the high illumination effect. The veins and textures of leaves are obvious, and the translucent light and shadow have strong perspective. Its color can explain that color should be highlighted in color photography.

The above parameters: shutter:1160second aperture: F4.5 focal length: 50MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: spot metering.

When shooting, you should choose the moment when the sun is strong, showing the perspective lighting effect, which will give people who look at the photos a strong visual impact and make them shine. If you pay attention to the simplicity of the subject and clear composition, the effect will be better, and even you will praise it from the heart, which is exactly what a photographer wants. The experience of using this method later gave me great encouragement.

The above parameters: shutter:1125 second aperture: F4.0 focal length: 35MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: spot metering.

In comparison, this effect is indeed beyond the smooth or sidelight shooting we usually use. In the practice of taking flowers, we consciously adopt natural light environment for many times, artificially create a black background, and then take flowers. When shooting, with the help of his companion, he covered the backlight background with an opaque black dress he was wearing, which became a flexible and effective black background. He set the shooting mode and pressed the shutter to successfully complete the shooting. Of course, in order to ensure the true reproduction of digital photo shooting effect and intention, post-processing is essential. The following pictures are practical examples.

The above parameters: shutter:1125 second aperture: F3.5 focal length: 50MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: evaluation metering.

Second, the use of black background in the natural environment.

The method of artificially creating a black background is very suitable for low plants and flowers, but it is not convenient for tall ones, especially when you can only shoot from a distance with a long focal length lens, and it is even more impossible to artificially create a black background. At this time, how to make full use of natural environmental conditions and combine technical skills to deal with and solve it is worth our brains. An example of a mistake was an unforgettable shooting experience for me. Please take a closer look at the photos below. Do you think it was taken in a natural light field?

The above parameters: shutter:1160second aperture: F4.0 focal length: 40MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: unknown.

As you can see, I took the photo above with a short lens. Do you know how this photo captures the effect of backlit black background in strong natural light environment? It's a photo that I spent a lot of time watching and thinking carefully after shooting. Now, let's recall and tell you the mystery of the shooting process. The background you see in the viewfinder is a row of cypress trees about 20 meters away, which looks like a dense gray-black wall. Look at the background in the viewfinder with your eyes, not as dark as the photos you see now. At that time, I thought that as long as the background could be darker and highlight the bright tone of the subject, I automatically set the focal length speed and then pressed the shutter. I was very surprised when the photo was printed. I really didn't expect the black background effect in the photo to be much better than I thought when shooting.

The above parameters: shutter:1160second aperture: F4.0 focal length: 105MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: central evaluation.

After careful analysis of the reasons, I thought that the camera would automatically close the shutter after the exposure of the subject under strong light reached the required exposure, so the background became dark due to insufficient exposure. In this way, the photos you see now are taken. Therefore, I think I will try this method of taking photos with black background effect by natural light again in the future.

The above parameters: shutter: 1/40s aperture: F7. 1 focal length: 5 1MM sensitivity ISO: 80 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: spot metering.

The flower photo above is my experimental photo taken by the method summarized above. The focus of some flowers in the photo doesn't seem to be very real, but it's for experiment. At that time, we only considered blurring the background with a large aperture, but this led to a smaller depth of field and unreal local focus, and made a common-sense low-level mistake. I'm terribly sorry.

The subjects mentioned above are just some flowers, but I have also used this technique in portrait photography in the natural environment in the wild. If we skillfully use this technique, the effect of portrait photos with backlit black background is sometimes not much worse than that taken in the photo studio. Even if the aesthetic effect of natural light is stronger than that of artificial light, you will definitely take good works that surprise you. You can practice. Because the theme and content should be consistent, I just remind everyone to think, so I won't give examples here.

The above parameters: shutter:1/60second aperture: F3.8 focal length: 50MM sensitivity ISO: 100 exposure compensation: EV-0 white balance: automatic metering: spot metering.

Third, restrictions on the use of technology.

No method can do everything. We have talked a lot before, and everyone will notice that what I am talking about here is to artificially create a black background environment by using natural light. There are two conditions, both of which are indispensable. When using, the light should have a certain intensity, otherwise the effect is not good. For example, the photo below.

This is a photo taken in the morning, and it is obvious that the visual impact of the strong light part is insufficient. Otherwise it must be a good photo. In turn, this tells us that you can only give up using this technology when it is cloudy and diffuse. It is this sharp contrast between high-pitched and dark tones that we use to expose the subject correctly and force the background to be underexposed to produce a black background.

When shooting, we must pay attention to the proportion of the area occupied by the subject in the composition, so that the subject can occupy most of the picture, and measure the light according to the subject. Due to the different distribution and methods of camera metering system, if it is not mastered well, the subject will be overexposed or underexposed, which will affect the contrast effect of black background.

Conclusion:

When taking photos with all-black background, the subject must be concise, which is conducive to showing the lighting effect. The theory is dead, the key is to practice more, practice truth, and explore a set of shooting methods suitable for you.