For Equine Photographers : Setting up a black background session

What you are getting in this blog is a sneak peek into what is being included in my new Black Background Masterclass pdf guide, which is currently on pre-order. This is a sliver of the wealth of information that is going to be included in the guide but I am giving you these tips for free! I know for a lot of photographers, black background portraits can seem like a bit of a mystery, and the art of doing them well might be impossible. But I’m here to tell you it is not. I’ve been photographing black backgrounds since 2014, nearly a decade, and I have gone through so much trial and error to really learn how to master this art process.

So let’s get started!

As photographers we are often guilty of saying “I’ll just fix that in editing”. I know it has rolled off my tongue a few too many times and I have deeply regretted it while editing the same dirt spot out of 20 portraits. I cannot stress enough how important it is to get the set up right in person and the shot right in camera, because trust me, it will save you hours in editing.

So how do you set up for a black background session?There are generally two approaches to these fine art portraits, naturally lit and studio lit. I will only cover naturally lit portraits, as that is the only way I have ever done them. I am not here to tell you it is better, it’s just what I know.

What do you need? Black backgrounds can be done with 100% natural lighting, and photoshop editing.You will need access to a dimly lit interior structure, with outside natural light coming in (behind the photographer). Generally this is a barn aisle or arena entrance but a garage, shed, workshop or pasture shelter may also work.

What about timing?As a photographer I’m sure you know golden hour to be the best time for a naturally lit session, however this is not the case for black backgrounds. You do not want sunlight to be shinning on your subject, so you want the sun to be high above your head. I usually try to schedule these sessions around the middle of the day. An overcast day is perfect for a black background session.

When thinking about setting up a black background session, you want to limit as much light as possible from behind the subject (coming into your lens) and have an indirect light source (outdoor daylight) from behind you, to illuminate your subject. Combined with strategic editing this will give the apperance that they are fading into a seamless black background. In an ideal set up this involves having a horse in a barn aisle, a few feet from the doors, with all the lights off and doors and windows closed behind them. You (the photographer) should be standing facing the horse, generally from a couple meters away, depending on the lens you are using.

Speaking of lens, let’s chat equipment and camera settings! Black background portraits are one of the most important times to avoid distortion, so you should opt for a lens that is longer than 50 mm (minimum) but more preferably 85mm. An 85mm, 135mm or 70-200mm lens are all great options and each will impact how close/far you stand from your subject.

f-stop : Because there is no background in these images, a strong bokeh effect is not necessary and therefore a low aperture is not necessary. Generally I will keep my f-stop between 2.5 and 4, depending how dark it is and how much light I need to let into my camera.

ISO : I always try to keep this as low as possible on any shoot, as I like to avoid grain in my images. Black background shoots are by default a low light scenario, so I generally have my ISO ~ 500.

Shutter speed : This needs to be high when working with horses, always, even if these are not action shots. Horses move quickly and black backgrounds should always be very crisp and clear images, capturing all the detail and freezing any motion. I try to keep it around 1/800 but I will drop it lower if necessary.

Final tips :

• Make sure you sweep the floor before and between shots, as well as try to keep wet feet and hooves off them. There is nothing more frustrating than editing the same piece of hay out of every single photo because you forgot to sweep.

• Keep the background clear!Try and remove all objects that are near the horse, otherwise you will need to edit them out later.
  Clean horses make for easier editing! Brush, brush, brush again and then wipe down for good measure! This applies to everything, the horse, the tack, the hooves, everything! If you think it’s clean enough, clean it again just because and watch out for that green mouth slobber as you go!

• Use a leadrop instead of reins with a bridle and keep it clipped on the side facing away from you, this way you won’t need to edit the bit later.

• If you are photographing a horse in a western or double bridle, it is generally standard to leave the reins on and put them over the neck but you should try and always have the horse in the most simple tack and bit available.