Welcome to the Wildlife Photo Tips Forum

[Sage]

Omg! How did this thread get buried?

Hava, if you're doing botanical macros or even bugs and want the background to go black, use your macro setting or do it manually, use the FLASH on a low setting with a flash ring thing or a styrofoam bowl. Practice til you achieve what you want.

[havalotta]

I don't want the background to GO black. I want it to BE black to begin with. Guess I don't understand what you're trying to tell me. Taking a photo with a flash only brightens things and makes them look oh.... so fake.

Flash ring? In a bowl?

[Sage]

hava, show me an example of what you want

[havalotta]

Funny you ask.
I returned to the thread last night, which led to the hunting for the photos of the florals I had taken using the various backdrops.
I found them. I'm in the process of looking at them for the very first time. What fun! A virgin stash of Summer fun, mid Winter. Right now I'm separating and deleting. I'll pull you up a few examples after I've enjoyed the show.

[havalotta]

I want to capture florals against a totally BLACK background....

Pretty much like this.....


The various papers and velvets I've tried BEHIND the florals tend to show every speck of fiber in them and or shadows.
They appear as if they are on carpet! A black sheet of paper or velvet behind them is a lot of hit and miss.....
The majority showing the graininess .

[Sage]

As an demo example, this bug works better because it really shows the well lit background as it was. No black paper or cloth. Just flash with a homemade light ring. I posted these on my Flickr account in 2006.

This was shot by me as passenger in car during the day, with a flash and man-made light ring (styrofoam plate)

Here is a broader view but you can see the bug I focused on and the black background the flash created. Also, towards the edges you can see through the window

This pic was a misfire but it shows what is really beyond the window.

Photographing my little glass antique bottles in a homemade light box with black paper or black velvet always resulted in DUST and LINT showing in the photo! Try to learn this trick and you can get this effect inside or out. You can make the light ring from a styrofoam plate or bowl with the center cut out to fit around your lens, or, you can spend a lot of money on a real ring.

Flickr page
Mayfly on car window | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[havalotta]

So you went from a shot of the mayfly THAT light in the bottom photo to one with THAT dark of a back ground in the photos above it by JUST adding what you call a light ring? Is that the same mayfly, same time, same day?????

[Sage]

Same mayfly, same time, different shots, and I posted the set to Flickr as an example of how following George's handmade tools, in this case the styrofoam light ring, would accomplish the goal of having the background go black. He used to post all his creations and taught us a lot over the years. I priced a light right at the time and the lowest price was $80.00.

[Sage]

Outdoor shot

Indoor shot

Same technique

[Sage]

And no dust or lint!