Turning water black - A guide to
perfecting that Black Background
By David Harasti
- Nov 2003
I have recently been experimenting
with my Coolpix 5000 and Ikelite Housing in getting underwater shots with a
nice black background. Achieving the black background in your image gives the
impression that the shot was taken at night and makes your photographic subject
'stand out'. A couple of people have asked how this is achieved with a Coolpix
5000 so I have put together the settings that I use.
Click on an image
for a larger resolution
I have found that
you can make some really nice images if you have a black background with some
red in the image. Red sponges look really good with a black background as
there is a good sharp contrast between the two colours. Through trial and
error I have come up with a couple of settings for my CP5000 that allows me
to achieve the black background effect.
Click on an image
for a larger resolution
Here are my tips:
- One of the most important aspects
for shooting a black background is that there can be no object behind your
subject. If there is a rock or sponge behind it it is unlikely that you will
achieve the full black effect as light will pick up the background object.
- Another useful method is too shoot
'up'. If you get your camera lower enough and point it up at the subject it
is likely there will only water in the background which you can 'force' black
with the settings described below.
- Pick a subject that is stationary
or moves slowly. This way you can take your time to setup for the shot.
Camera Settings:
- It is essential that you use a
strobe. I use a single Ikelite DS125 that I position directly on top of the
camera, I even have it sometimes resting on top of my Ikelite housing.
- I set my strobe to 1/8 power,
this is the lowest power setting that is available on the DS125. The Ikelite
manual controller provides 10 different power settings so you could achieve
even less output if utilise the manual controller.
- Set the aperture in the camera
to f8.
- Ensure that you have the camera
set to 'spot' metering and that the macro function is turned on.
- Set the digital 'film' speed setting
to ISO 100.
- Start off with a shutter speed
of 1/1000. If you find that your subject is to dark (under exposed) decrease
your shutter speed to 1/500 and work your way down until you achieve the correct
exposure. If the subject is to bright (over exposed) increase your shutter
speed to 1/2000 of a second. If it's too bright on 1/2000 of a second try
repositioning your strobe by moving it further back from the subject.
That's about all there is too it.
If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to email
me.
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