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RE: black backgrounds?

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Posted by: chrish at Wed Jan 26 09:10:07 2011  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by chrish ]  
   

Open the photos in an image editor (like photoshop or the GIMP) and adjust the black point. Black backgrounds are tough though. A big part of it is the texture of the background itself. If it is too reflective, it can ruin the shot.



This leucistic retic was placed on a piece of black cloth. I did have to adjust the exposure and black point. You can still see the background material, but it isn't distracting.







Wrinkes in the cloth will show up lighter, so you need to make sure it is smooth -







This Rubber Boa's background shows some reflections, but they aren't too distracting. I tried to dodge a few of the brighter spots in Photoshop -







For arboreal animals, it is easier to just put them on a branch a few feet in front of some black cloth. As long as it isn't reflective, you can get a nice black background. (I wish this one wasn't so sidelit)







Here the snake is hanging from a limb being held by a guy with a black T-Shirt on -







Chris
-----
Chris Harrison

San Antonio, Texas


   

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