This pic was taken in a dark room with no ambient light. I used a flashlight to cast light on the figure and used a big black matte board for the background in the distance. So the light is only focused on the figure and the matte board was not lit at all. But you can see from looking at Erin's pictures that some light in the background adds to the overall dynamic. I only had one light to use though.
Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country.
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Preston, England
Posts: 1,908
Cool. Yeah, Erin's backdrops look great! I used to take pics against a black background, but they always looked off. I wanted that deep darkness in the shot.
I think the key is not having ambient light in the room if you want a deep dark black in the background. The matte board I used as the backdrop was probably 2-3 feet behind the subject.