Studio-Quality Invisible Black Background

Aka: SQIBB, an acronym coined by the wonderful, Caryn Esplin. Caryn teaches how to take beautiful photos using a technique she learned from amazing Glyn Dewis at Photoshop World. An invisible black background can be created in any setting, inside or outside.

Creating an invisible black background is easy and can be done easily if you have the right equipment. All you need is a camera set to create a dark or black photo, a Speedlight with a Light Bender attached. The light will light up your dark subject.

My camera settings were as follows: ISO 100; shutter speed 1/250; and f/5.8 for my aperture. You may want to up the aperture to around f/22 if you’re in an outdoor setting.

This is the first Studio Quality Invisible Black Background (SQIBB) that I shot and edited:

Below is my setup for the shot. You can see where I am standing in front of my beautiful subject, Sydney Jolley. You can also see where my friend, Cami Judd is holding the speed light with a light bender wrapped around it to create a ‘snoot’. The snoot shape enables you to direct the light exactly where you want it.

After I felt like I had the technique down, I experimented with some other subjects. Below I created an invisible black background behind some bead glass on a bathroom light fixture.

Next, I created an invisible black background with the addition of an LED Light Wand set to the color red:

Lastly, I’m sharing a funny photo I took of my husband when I was testing out my ‘snoot’ at home. His look is supposed to say, “What is this light your flashing in my face?” I like the way it turned out.

Have fun experimenting with this fun technique!