Black on black portraiture

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STM

Senior Member
One of the most challenging kinds of portraiture, for me at least, is what I call "black on black". In this case it was more like "black on black on black". We have an Asian woman with jet black hair, wearing a black corset against a black background. To break her away from the background I used a strobe behind her, with no softening, and then used two softboxes on either side of her. The corset she was wearing was made out of some kind of synthetic and had a silk-like sheen to it. That helped separate it from the background as well.

Nikon D700, 105mm f/1.8 AIS Nikkor

Chonchon.jpg
 
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S

STM

Senior Member
Rick M said:
I like everything about it, but the highlights from the unfiltered strobes are kind of overpowering.
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Thanks for your comments! I was going for a "halo" effect to rimlight her hair, which is why I went "barebulb" (no reflector) on the strobe.
 
S

STM

Senior Member
Rick M said:
What material is the background? Black seems to be very popular nowadays, but the seperation issue is challenging.
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I use seamless black muslin, 10 feet wide and 20 feet long. It will run you around $100 or so but you may find it for less. Of course the stands and crossbar for it will run you more than that!
 
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Browncoat

Browncoat

Senior Member
I agree with Rick, the backlighting looks to be a little hot, which is most noticeable on her inner arm . It's also highlighting some peach fuzz, which could be cleaned up in post.

Good job, though. You pulled it off. Shooting black on black (on black) is a pain in the ass, but the look is classic and flatters just about any subject. I always have trouble getting the hair light just right to add separation from the background
 
S

STM

Senior Member
Browncoat said:
I agree with Rick, the backlighting looks to be a little hot, which is most noticeable on her inner arm . It's also highlighting some peach fuzz, which could be cleaned up in post.

Good job, though. You pulled it off. Shooting black on black (on black) is a pain in the ass, but the look is classic and flatters just about any subject. I always have trouble getting the hair light just right to add separation from the background
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I went for the full on "angel halo" effect on this one, LOL, but that was the effect I was looking for. Monica had her hair heavily gelled, to the point that you almost could not move it around and I decided I really wanted to highlight it. Because her hair is light to begin with, I think it works here

Monica_640.jpg
 
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