Portaits - Subjects against a black background ?

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laughing.star

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Hey there

I'm very new to studio lighting and am planning on producing a number of portraits of people in uniform.

I know EXACTLY how I want them lit, which is like this !...
http://www.designboom.com/tools/WPro/images/11n/dt3.jpg

(for further images go to http://www.dannytreacy.com/ 'Them' series)

Gorgeously lit, almost 'confronting', standing out from a black background.

However, I have no idea how to go abouts creating this !...

If anyone has any advice eg. lighting kit type, distance between subject and background, how to get that background so black etc I would be very grateful... I really am studio naive !

Thanks very much for your time
 
Without knowing what kind of gear you have it is difficult to suggest what to do.

If we work on the assumption you have minimal gear then I would suggest keeping your flash to subject distance as close as possible and your subject to background distance as large as possible. This will maximise light fall off behind the subject and hopefully reduce the background to near to black as possible. Remember that shutter speed only affects available light so use your cameras max sync speed (1/250th or thereabouts) and try to stop down your aperture (as much as you flash output will allow). This should hopefully kill what ambient light there is and get that background very dark.

Nice link by the way, weird pics but cool. Maybe somebody else could step in and offer types on the lighting set ups suitable for this type of work. I am out of my depth there but I guess a couple of studio strobes with umbrellas or softboxes positioned in really close to get that wrap-around shadowless look would be really cool with a black background.

With regards to background, a wall that is painted white can be reduced to black if you have the separation between subject and background.
 
I'm guessing your working for an organisation that wants to publish the pictures via Routers ?

Nice thread..:woot:... lol
 
google is your friend(y)



:LOL:


md(y)
 
My guess is that this is lit either with a silver reflective umbrella each side, fairly distant, or a standard reflector each side. Definately not softboxes or umbrellas placed close, the lighting is far too harsh for that. Personally I would have used standard reflectors.

I would also have added a honeycombed light each side and behind, to separate the subject from the background better.

As for equipment, studio flash.
 
Hi there

Sorry I realise that it was a very broad 'question' as such that I wrote so thankyou for your responses !

(The image I provided is by a photographer called Danny Treacy, he constructs outfits out of clothes he finds then photographs himself wearing them - interesting concept and fantastic resulting images in my opinion)

It is that particular type of lighting/set up as shown in the link provided that I am hoping to recreate for my own images. The way the images are lit is exactly how I want mine to appear, except I have little to no studio experience, so I'm not really sure where to start...

I have access to a wide range of lighting equipment, as will be renting from a university that does a photographic course, so getting hold of what I need shouldn't be a problem.

I should probably try and be a bit more precise with some of the things I am hoping to find out, things such as...
- which would be better - strobe or constant
- even, how many lights are used, what strength, what angle to light the subject in such a way...
-what kind of equipment might have been used

I guess I'll start there and come up with more constructive questions as I go along !...

Many thanks for attempting to help me
 
Well,
I'm glad you like the lighting in these shots. Actually it's very simple to create, as I explained in my first post, so if that's what you want...

Your example pic is a bit too small for precise answers, but basically as I explained above - the angle would be somewhere between 45 - 60 degrees, as a guess.
Flash is far more suitable than continuous, my guess is that 2 were used. And I've already told you what I think was used in terms of equipment, other people may have other ideas.

The best suggestion I can make is that you try it for yourself and see what you get. Some studio lighting is technical, this isn't and you'll learn how to replicate (and improve on) your example simply by doing it.
 
I saw his exhibition when it was on in London! Really weird stuff, he rummages through textile banks, bins, etc. to find the clothing!
 
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