How to make the portrait background black?

How to make the portrait background black? Photography is "the art of subtraction". Before unifying the background, all the redundant elements except the main body were removed, and simplicity is beauty. And black background is one of the most commonly used methods. So, how to make people like the background black?

▲ Black background

1, black background

Create a black background with a black background cloth or a black environment. In the choice of background materials, we should choose some materials with good light absorption, such as black velvet non-woven fabric, rough dark wall, black cotton cloth and so on. It is suggested that spot metering or central key metering should be carried out on the main body, and the exposure compensation should be reduced by about 1~2, so that the black background effect is better.

▲ Black flannel directly shoots black background.

▲ The subject is directly exposed to sunlight, and the light ratio between the subject and the background is large. If the subject is spot-tested, the background will naturally be black.

2, combined with flash shooting black background

Direct the subject with a flash, and reduce the exposure appropriately. Due to the distance between the background and the subject, the background will appear black due to underexposure. Even if the background is not a "dark background" in the usual sense, you can create an effect similar to a dark picture-as long as the power of the lights you hit is high enough.

▲ Shoot a black background with a flash.

Note that when the flash flashes, not only the subject will be illuminated, but also the background (assuming there are reflective objects in the background), which will lead to impure pictures (of course, you can ignore this one if you want to leave the background) and even explosion. If you want to get the effect of the above picture without later stage, the background can only be completely non-reflective or simply nothing.

▲ Choose a pure black background to achieve the purpose of concise picture.

If the background is not very dark, or when a large aperture is used, it is necessary to consider the brightness of the background and improve the flash output, so as to ensure a black background.

3. Late stage

There are two common methods to realize black background in the later stage: changing black background and darkening background. Needless to say, changing the background, let's talk about darkening the background here. The main idea is to strengthen the contrast, further reduce the dark parts, and use a large area of dark tones to hide redundant elements to form an abstract background; Keep a small area with bright colors to outline the main body and grasp the visual center of the picture.

▲ The background darkens later.

In addition, clothing background props appear in harmonious colors of the same color or similar colors. The pose of the model is suitable for the side, and with the side light, highlights are formed on the nose, eyes, mouth and face, so that these parts can be better expressed and leave a clear impression.

▲ Side light, curves of face and body can be beautifully displayed.

Finally, I want to say that all-black background photos can not only shoot people, but also still life, flowers and so on. However, it should be noted that it seems simple to shoot a black background, but the environment should be considered first, followed by photometry, and finally the background and creativity should be considered. It's not as simple as a shot and a click.

▲ Black background can highlight the vein and texture of branches and leaves, and strong color contrast can show many delicate details.

▲ The black background highlights the texture.

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