How can one get the photographic effect that results in a total black background with only the subject exposed

Question

i want to make photos where the subject is clearly in view..yet everything else is black. can someone please give me details ..lots of details short of drawing me a picture on how to achieve this look in a photo?

Answer 1

pretty simple actually. find a dark room (not too much outside light coming in) and put your subject in front of a dark backdrop. i use black bedsheets from walmart. any fabric store is great too. use a single spot light to cast the desired direction of light. i use halogen clip lamps on a chair. try to stay away from incandescent as they cast very pale, yellow, dull light. set your camera on a tripod. use a low aperture (f2-f4.5) and set your shutter speed according to your light meter. or use aperture priority (if you have it) and let the camera do all the work. make sure your subject has at least 4 ft. of seperation from the backdrop and try to keep the light only on your subject (not the background).

Answer 2

Find a very dark room. Place your model as far away from the walls as you can and put up some black fabric if you can. Set up some lights, illuminating the subject in the foreground. You might have to use snoots or shades to direct the light so it only falls on the model. Basically, just keep the light away from the walls.

If anything does show up in the background, you can always burn it in in the darkroom (or use Photoshop to darken it)

Answer 3

While black backgrounds work, you can even accomplish this effect outdoors in sunlight. You have to use a flash and set a high shutter speed and a small aperture. That way the only light will be from the flash and the background will not have time to expose.

Answer 4

Use black background during photoshoot and keep aparture a littlebit extra open to allow the minutes of reflected light from the object photographed can be absorbed by camerafilm to create best detailed image. for further help log in to www.freemankpo.com

Answer 5

By putting a black cloth behind the subject.

Answer 6

To me the easiest way is with Photoshop. Take the picture, crop the subject using the crop tool, lasso, or pen tool (depends on object). Inverse the selection and fill with black.