Need a Black Backdrop in a Pinch? Try this...

I posted this picture on my personal Facebook account with the following question:

Where was this photo taken?
A - My living room with a black backdrop
B - In my driveway in the middle of the afternoon, no backdrop
C - Studio with black backdrop
D - In my driveway at night, no backdrop

Since most of my close friends know I don't have a brick and mortar studio they guessed either A or D. My photography contemporaries guessed A, C (Sometimes I use someone else's studio), or D.  I'd say D was the most chosen answer.  The correct answer, however, is B.

The picture was taken at around 2pm on a sunny day while standing on my driveway. You are seeing the photo as it was taken with the exception of a slight crop. Don't believe me? Let me tell you how I did it!!!!!! NOTE: Depending on the time of day speedlights may/may not work.

• Step #1 - Place camera in manual, or "M" mode.
• Step #2 - Set shutter speed to 1/250. Why? Because you're likely to run into flash sync issues if you use a flash at higher shutter speeds.
• Step #3 - Set your aperture very small, like f/20. This photo was taken at f/32.
• Step #4 - Set your ISO to 100.
• Step #5 - Take a picture without your subject. If the picture is not completely black you will need to make some adjustments. The first adjustment to make is make your aperture narrower.  If that doesn't work then increase your shutter speed, but just barely.  After this is done you should have achieved the completely black photo.
• Step #6 - Place your subject where you want them.
• Step #7 - Place your strobe (I used an Alien Bee B800 at full power) where necessary and make the light as narrow as possible. I used a cone, but you can used an unextended umbrella to help direct the light only on your subject. You'll want to do this so the light won't reflect off the ground or any object in the background.
• Step #8 - Take your picture. It should be ready to go right out of the camera!

In the photo above I had to increase my shutter speed to 1/400. The telltale sign of a flash sync issue is a dark band of varying sizes along the bottom of the picture. Remember earlier I said the only edit I made was a small crop? The crop was to get rid of that dark band. Other than that, the photo is what I took right out of the camera, no edit!

This same concept will work indoors, too. Light direction and focus will be even more important, however.

I hope this little trick comes in handy if you ever wish you had a black back drop. Personally, I think it's quite cool...