• Photos

  • Level

  • Score

BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: To Be Categorized

Photography Question 

BetterPhoto Member 		 

black & White Portraiture


 
 
I dabble in children's portrait photography mainly for friends and family. (refer to photo of my son)I recently had some photos taken of us whereby the photographer had us dress in black clothes and do various poses holding our naked baby in front of draped black fabric. the results were fantastic and our son appeared to be floating against this black background . Her studio was set up in a room in her home and she did not use any of the conventional backdrops that I have seen in other studios. Just this black fabric draped up on the wall. I am curious as to why the folds both in our clothes and in the fabric behind us did not appear on film. As I said, the results were great.How can I achieve this technique at home in my own makeshift studio. I currently use a canon Eos slr with external flash but I have only dabbled in outdoor photography.


To love this question, log in above
April 03, 2001

 

Jeff S. Kennedy 		  I've been looking at your question(s) for several days and see that no one wants to respond. I haven't attempted the shot you are talking about but have seen examples of it. I can try to give you some basic information and make some educated guesses.

For starters, I would assume the photog you worked with was using studio strobes and not just off camera flashes. It probably helps to precisely control the pattern and direction of the light to keep it off of background and clothing folds. A high light ratio between your lit faces and any light spilling onto clothing etc. combined with a higher contrast print would help eliminate detail in the black. Black reflectors can be used to subtract light filling into areas you don't want filled.

I would think this would be tough (though not impossible) to duplicate with an off camera flash unless it has a modeling light so you can see where the light is falling. To really do it right you would also need a flash meter so you can determine ratios of light. With the right equipment I don't think it would be too hard. Experiment with what you have and see what happens.


To love this comment, log in above
April 06, 2001

 

John A. Lind 		  Carol,
Jeff has some excellent suggestions for this. It will require some experimentation to find what works best for you, not only with lighting, but with film and printing too.

In addition to what Jeff mentions, experiment with the distance between your subjects and the pure black backdrop (which should be a material with with as little reflectance as possible). I recommend trying as much distance as you can get first . . . with no light falling on the backdrop from either indoor lamps or through windows. Illumination from a light source (flash strobes) falls off with the square of the distance; twice the distance has a fourth the illumination, three times has a ninth the illumination, etc.

-- John


To love this comment, log in above
April 07, 2001

 
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here

Report this Thread