How to create photos with black background?

When we look at photos with a black background and a well-focused subject in the foreground, they look much cleaner, more professional and decidedly captivating. This particular technique works with all genres of photography, especially portraits , but it also works well in nature, food, and commercial product photography.

Most people think that to obtain a black background in photography you need a strictly black studio and backdrop, but in this article we will see how it is possible to obtain a black background regardless of the context and the color of the background itself. We will examine different techniques that can be used individually or even in combination with each other to obtain a better image.

To obtain excellent results you need to know very well the different types of light because the first thing you need to do is to examine the quantity and quality of the light in front of you. Another fundamental thing is to have an excellent knowledge of your camera. Digital cameras, however complex, will NEVER arrive at having a dynamic range like that of the human eye and therefore cameras record light in a different way to what our eyes see (it is a topic that we will deepen in the coming days, so keep following us). Knowing your camera and lenses well is another fundamental point for obtaining excellent results.

Fundamental requirements for obtaining a good black background in photos

The most important requirement for obtaining a black background in photography (except when we are in the studio with a black backdrop) is to look for high contrast lighting conditions. There must be a strong light around you but also shadows. Without shade you will never get a good result. If the light on your subject is very bright compared to the light on your background, the background is cast in complete darkness. Look for situations like these!

Another thing to take into consideration is the direction of the light. This must NEVER be from the front but must hit your subject from the side otherwise there is a high probability that the light will illuminate the background and in the end it will end up white! Look for a side light so as to create good contrast between the subject and the background.

The camera settings that will be suggested to you in this article can vary a lot from camera to camera. That's why you need to know your camera well in order to find the right settings once you gain knowledge of these techniques.

In many situations having the background away from the subject helps to obtain a black background more easily than in other situations. Never position your subject close to the background (if possible)

So how do we get a black background in photography? There are several methods that we will look at. Let's start with the simplest and most obvious: using a black panel

Using the black panel

It is obviously trivial, but the simplest way to obtain photographs with a dark background is to find a panel or backdrop, quite large in size, totally black. This way you don't have to worry about the background but you "only" have to adjust the light source and its direction towards the main subject.

Any black panel can be used but velvet or any other non-reflective fabric is most recommended. Use an opaque material because with the glossy one you risk annoying light rebounds that become unmanageable.

As already mentioned above, always remember to keep the subject sufficiently detached from the background to prevent the light from illuminating the black panel anyway.

Let's now look at the various situations and ways in which light can be controlled to achieve a perfectly black background.

Create a black background through controlled lighting

Did you know that you can get a black background in your images even if you end up with a completely white background?

Obviously this may seem impossible but, in controlled lighting conditions and with different techniques, you can easily darken the background even when it is light. When I talk about controlled lighting I don't mean natural light but light shot from a flash. Natural light often "floods" the scene in all directions and obviously also ends up hitting the background, which we shouldn't do.

Use a flash and put it sideways to the subject, even better if you use 2 flashes, one on each side. Then measure the light of the scene and set the right flash power. Take some test shots and then you will see that you have obtained a bright image with a black background like this:

The reason why we are able to get a dark background even in the presence of a light one is the dynamic range which in cameras is very limited compared to our eyes. They see far more tonal or intensity variations of light than a camera can capture.

Create a black background through natural lighting

You can create perfect photos with black background even using natural light even though it's actually not that easy. All you have to do is place your subject in the brightest area of the room and try to keep the light intensity very low in the surrounding areas.

An example would be the classic window. Position the subject close to it, perhaps closing the shutters as much as possible so as to let in a single beam of light and not a diffused light, and close all the other doors or windows so as to have as dark as possible in the scene and have only a beam of light directed at the subject.

The use of flash

When using a flash we tell the camera NOT to capture any other light than what we are "shooting" at it from the flash itself. You need to select some special settings to get a black background. Here's what you need to do:

• Set the camera to manual mode
• Sets the maximum shutter speed to the maximum flash sync speed.
• Set the ISO sensitivity as low as possible
• The aperture value must be reduced until an image with a dark background is obtained. Start at f/5.6 (depends on how much light is in the area). Take a test shot and then possibly close again and bring the camera to F8
• Position the flash so that it doesn't hit the background. Put it sideways to the subject or, at worst, slightly more frontal ... but without exaggerating.
• Play around with aperture variation and flash power until you get the right exposure on your subject and a completely black background.

Post-processing a photograph with a black background

Despite all the efforts to get a completely black background, a minimum of post-production is almost inevitable to get the perfect photo.

When working with such images in Photoshop, professionals usually adjust contrast, shadows, and tonal levels, accentuating the background using a pure black brush.

Another popular technique in Photoshop to darken the background is to use the "Dodge/Burn" tool set to "burn" mode. By hovering the mouse over the dark parts of the image, this tool will allow you to make them even darker until you get pure black. Unlike the black brush in this case you decide the intensity by passing over and over the background.

Obtaining images with a black background may seem like a difficult thing but after a few tries you will see that you will be able to obtain excellent results. Below are just a few examples of what you can achieve.