black background for still lives

[scott russell]

Hi,

I've been trying to shoot still lifes (or lives?) but the only thing i want to read on the negative is the object and none of the background. I've been using a peice of black velveteen that seems to work alright, but it can still faintly be seen. I want the look of an object kind of floating in space. I was wondering if there is a general amount of f-stops difference you want between the object and the background. for instance, the object lit reads f32 @ 1 sec and the BG meters f8 = 4 stops difference.

[Peter De Smidt]

Well, if possible you can support the object in a way that won't be seen by the camera, and then have a black background. Since the background will be much farther from the light source than the object, the background will be much darker.

For example, you could use a grip arm that comes through a hole in the background, and put a super clamp or similar on the end to hold the object. Basically, you can use anything that won't show in the picture. If the object is delicate, you can always put pillows under it (and just outside of the shot) such that if the object does fall, at least it'll fall on something soft.

[lenser]

Scott,
Black velvet drinks up light even better than velveteen and there are flocked black background paper rolls designed for exactly this purpose. Check on that with whomever you would buy seamless background paper from or check Garrison-Wagner in St. Louis. They've got some specialty background and diffusion items.

After that, keep the background out of the light as much as possible and you should find a solution.

[Donald Miller]

Hi,

I've been trying to shoot still lifes (or lives?) but the only thing i want to read on the negative is the object and none of the background. I've been using a peice of black velveteen that seems to work alright, but it can still faintly be seen. I want the look of an object kind of floating in space. I was wondering if there is a general amount of f-stops difference you want between the object and the background. for instance, the object lit reads f32 @ 1 sec and the BG meters f8 = 4 stops difference.

Five stops or more of difference can drop the background out. You don't need a black background...you can make a white background render black with sufficient lighting ratio.

[Drew Bedo]

There are a couple of things to try...

Support the subject from behind, with the support arm not visable on the GG. Lighht the subject with strobes. Dim the ambient light in the room and expose for the subject only.
this set-up was used for the images of shells on my website.

[Don Hutton]

Subject to background distance helps and with careful use of directional modifiers you should be able to avoid almost any direct spillover onto the background. Beyond that, make sure you're not overexposing.

[Doug Howk]

Sometimes I have to resort to selectively bleaching the background - works OK with subjects that have distinct edges. Place neg on sheet of glass and paint below with running water at hand for any mistakes.

[Glenn Thoreson]

You have to keep the background far enough away that it doesn't show in the photo. That's the biggest concern, and could be a problem if you don't have much space. Try to keep the light off it, too. Use only as small an aperture as you need to cover the depth of the subject and no more. That's the only way I know. It works for me.
EDIT: If you want it to look like it's floating, have you thought of placing it on a sheet of plate glass and lighting it from below? You might need some fill from the sides to get it even. An old method for shooting glass objects and jewelry, but might also work well for other things. :D

[Merg Ross]

You may find a suitable material at Filmtools. They stock black velour.

http://www.filmtools.com/duvetyne.html

[C. D. Keth]

Many materials will do what you want. The duvetyne will do it a little easier. What you really need is some separation between subject and background. You can't light them (or not light them) separately if they're not separated.

[Frank Petronio]

http://www.setshop.com/

and

Photoshop

[sharpics]

You can find your answer here studio photography equipment and photo studio accessories (http://www.sharpics.com/).

[arca andy]

Hi, heres my two pennyworth
First put a long lens on your camera..250/300mm if using 5x4. Then set up and light your object be sure to leave a good distance behind your set for the background. I try not to use glass as a support because of reflections and dust with a black background. Then set up your background as far away as possible making sure you have no light from the set hitting it. My black backgrounds tend to be either black velvet or if a larger spread is needed then plywood painted with blackboard paint.
I think the key is using a long lens as this means your background can be much further away than with a standard lens due to the foreshortening effect
If all the above fails then Photoshop is the answer!
Have fun

[Ed Richards]

Also angling the background a little so there is no light from the subject reflected to the camera.

[Doug Keyes]

I use black felt, not the cheap stuff as that reflects too much light. True wool felt doesn't reflect anything but the dust that settles on it. I use a lint roller to keep the dust off. I'm shooting books laying flat, looking down at the felt so it's definitely lit well (strobes) and in focus but it completely goes away.