The Gold Standard

I photograph my black background images at the entryway of a barn aisle (read exactly how I do it here). Being based in Texas, most barns have a lot of windows, doors, and skylights to promote ventilation during our hot summers. Because of this, I try to get the background as dark as I can by closing every door/window and turning off lights, but there are inevitably still light sources behind my subject. I make the backgrounds perfectly dark in post-production while trying to make it look as natural as possible.

But what does “natural” look like? What is the “gold standard” for a black background shot? How should the black fade perfectly down to the floor?

While I was in Ohio this year, I took the following images in a shed used for shavings. The building was fully insulated with no doors, windows, or light coming through. The backgrounds of these images were not touched in post-processing. This is how the darkness fades down to the floor, naturally. This is how the directional light wraps around the horse, naturally.

I don’t have the luxury of this often, but this is what “natural” straight from the camera looks like:

I use these images as a reference while I edit using brushes in PhotoShop to ensure that my edited images look as natural as possible!

Interested in learning more? I have a course on Black Backgrounds here!