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Discussion Board -> Photography -> Black Backround

Black Backround

chickadee59
03/17/07 9:48 PM GMT
I'm fairly new to photography and this site and have a lot to learn. I'm particularly interested in photos outside (flowers/birds) that have a solid black backround. How does one do that? Can it be done with a digital camera?
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&KEIFER
03/17/07 11:37 PM GMT
well .. barring the "perfect storm" of circumstances behind the flower ... it sounds as though you are looking for images that have been post-processed in photoshop, for example, and the background removed

but .. if you were to align your subject with an area a good distance away .. AND .. use a wide aperature, which features very shallow depth of field .. like f2.8 or close .. then your background will be just a creamy wash of subtle blurs
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*---===>>>>>(¯`·._(¯`·._.: :o) <---- OBLIGATORY SMILEY :._.·´¯)_.·´¯)<<<<<===---*
.noahnott
03/18/07 1:09 AM GMT
f2.8 in 35mm terms, that is. Even at that, you'll have to be fairly close to your subject to have the background fairly washed out.

But, yes it can be done with any digital and software...

...Putting a subject on a blk background is fairly simple in photoshop or GIMP, the latter of which is free.

So umm...yeah, just open your image, create a new layer (empty), and use the paint brush tool on blk to paint over the object. Or if you don't like that method b/c of the soft fuzzy look, you can use the A) Magic wand B) Lasso Tool C) Smaller Paint brush and zoom in a lot D) Mask tool (which is similar to the paint brush) E) Erase the main layer w/ a black layer behind it (which is basically the same as D and the paint brush method) F) Levels, which only does so much G) Anything I forgot.
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chickadee59
03/18/07 1:52 AM GMT
Thanks! I'll give it a whirl. Much appreciated.
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+mayne
03/18/07 4:44 AM GMT
It is very possible without manipulation to create that image. You need to find a very high contrast subject to background. In this photo the grasses were very bright as opposed to the shaded background. By metering for the light that fell on the grass, the background became very underexposed. Need more...just ask:-)
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Darryl
.noahnott
03/18/07 5:18 AM GMT
...or you could do that.

...but you could also:

- Use a flash only on the subject
- Put a black cloth behind the subject...if your photographing your house, get a big cloth. ;-)
- Set your camera to the lowest ISO, highest shutter speed, and widest aperature, and in a dark condition (thats a joke...a dull joke at that)
- Use black spraypaint (also a lame joke, but hey! I'm noah! :)
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&Crusader
03/18/07 8:45 AM GMT
If you have Photoshop you can give this photo background removal tutorial a go. That's the method I personally use, and it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

If you don't want to post process the photo, then you can always use a colored piece of cardboard/cloth as the background. Though I haven't used that method myself.
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+ppigeon
03/18/07 10:38 AM GMT
You can play with the sun. If the subject is strongly lit by the sun and if the background is in the shade, you emphasize the subject. Some adjustments with your favorite software can increase the effect. Example
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-Pierre-
chickadee59
03/18/07 3:50 PM GMT
You folks are just amazing! Thanks for a the advice. I'm going to check out all methods!
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