Getting black`s nice and black

markyboy.1967

markyboy.1967

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Mark Molloy
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Whenever i shoot a dog on a black background i always have a problem i post pocessing.

When i light a dog standing on the black flooring then light spills onto the floor making it not so black.As i need to get the feet etc in the image then light will always spill onto the floor if i want to light the feet at all.

If i use the eyedropper tool to get the blacks nice and dark then the dog itself gets darker and the exposure i set for the dog is changed--is there a way of using the eye dropper tool to darken the blacks but keep the dog the same exposure.

Also if i find im cloning from a dark park of the image( usually the background where no light spills) then its all blotchy and i end up using the eyedropper tool instead.

AAny help would be reatful as i get my little pup in a few weeks and i want to practice editing before hand.Thanks...
 
It needs to be lit properly. Use hair lights and kickers.. get some sheen into the dog's coat. That way you can really saturate the blacks and still retain detail.

As always... PP isn't the answer... it's photography and lighting.


It would be helpful though if you post up an example of what you've shot so far so we can advise you better.
 
Cheers. Im ok with lighting the dog, its the floor i have the issue with. I need to light the dogs legs and feet and get spill onto the flooring as a result. The flooring is black gortex material as it needs to be waterproof for those little accidents the dogs have. It turns an off black due to the spill and i cant control it as dogs move around a lot and i need the light to cover them no matter where they stand. If i can find a way of darkening the floor around the feet but keep the dog lit the way it was shot then i would be happy.lol
 
I'd just use the least reflective material I could. Velvet springs to mind. It will probably be ruined afterwards though.

Why do you want it black though? Won't that make the dog look like it's floating in space?

It would still be helpful to see the lighting you're using though. Do you have an image?
 
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