Probably the hardest of the studio photography setups to nail, photographing black backgrounds well and specifically black dogs on a black background, is the most frequently asked studio question I get. So today, we cover that!
If I typed out this how-to in a full blog post, we’d be here all day. So, all I can say is just watch this first, then come ask me any questions you have, either on the channel in the comments, here in the comments or in the Facebook group.
Full edit step by step video:
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Sorry for not typing it out guys, but trust me, it’s big!
Loved this video; thank you!
At 25:20, curious why you removed the grid from Main light # 1 to shoot the second 1-light shot, making it into more of a flood light. I doubt it had anything to do with the backdrop since the light was turned further away from that angle, except that being uncontrolled, some of the light might have spilled over. It is probably simple, I just know nothing about studio lights.
I managed to stop the vid at 25:27+, not quite 25:28, to freeze the video frame as Main light #1 triggered. Bram was bathed in way more light on that side than I expected to see. I was surprised then to see the resulting image which was subdued light. Did the camera ignore all of that light flash or did you need to re-darken it in post-edit?
Your video is so good and well-presented, these are the only questions I have after 30 minutes of viewing. ???
Ah! Yes I didn’t mention it did I! Bramble was finding it a little hard to stay in her “spot” and instead of putting her on a lead when we were so close to being done, I decided to just remove the grid to give me a little more leeway with where she was sat. The shots before she was either just this side or just that side and it just wasn’t quite right (another example of why something off the floor is great!!). Removing the grid was more to give the dog a bit more space for their spot. Sometimes you’ve just got to work with what you’ve got – this was definitely one of those times.
Regarding the light at 25:27/28 (by the way, awesome job pausing it at the right time!!) it’s important to remember that these lights at that power have a flash duration of around 1/1000s, so the full power of the flash lasts less than 0.001 seconds (my maths is not very good, I think that is correct), and as I’m filming in 30 frames per second for video, it’s very rare that you see the full flash in a video frame. Video is just a set of stills stitched together, so 30 images for every second then put together. This I think was one of those times where you got the full power in that freeze-frame at 30fps. Most of the time you get the end reflection or the pre reflections. The power has to be high because of the ambient light in the barn. Hope this helps!