Quite a few nature photographers carry around a black velvet cloth with them when they photograph wildflowers. The purpose is to completely get rid of distracting background elements and it can create quite a dramatic effect complimenting the subject.
I don’t use this technique very much because I tend to go for more natural background colors. But for this particular pair of yellow lady slippers, they were in an area that was pretty cluttered. I had a piece of dark grey mat board in my car and decided to give it a try. Of course, this yielded a grey background and not a black one.
By setting a Photoshop Levels black point on the background, and then masking back in the flowers and leaves, it achieved that black velvet look. The matboard simply helped create a consistent-looking background and made the masking job a lot easier. It would work much better with the black velvet cloth I mentioned.
It does create a lot of drama, and it tends to take on a studio look versus “shot in the field.” Not everyone likes this type of shot, and I don’t think you see many of them in magazines or books because that black is a pain for printers. Perhaps a black cloth is destined for your camera bag?
I did some butterflies this way a long, long time ago, and decided they just didn’t look right – too studio like. But for flowers, I can see the appeal at times. I think this may be my only color shot with a black background, for B&W work, I think it works well in a lot of cases.
It is extremely rare for me to photography anything on a black background. Simply does not suit my tastebuds.
I think I have created just one image on a black background in the last 5 years or so.
Still, … this image of yours here is very nice!
It does not seem to be to bold with its color like others that I have seen.
Again, ….. nice one!!
Hey Mark, I carry some black felt, and it does come in handy on those flower shots with cluttered BG’s.
Thanks for the tip, Mark. I hadn’t thought of that. Now I’m wondering what other portable backgrounds might create interesting effects.
Interesting concept. It does have that studio look, but I guess that’s only because we know that that type of background doesn’t appear naturally. A nice shot, anyway.
Never used black velvet, but like to use shadows to darken the back ground. This is a very nice shot….looks like it just started to bloom.