Studio Quality Invisible Black Background

SQIBB lighting to create a beautiful invisible black background in photos.

studio quality invisible black background photographyinvisible black background setup shot

According to Glyn Dewis, there is a photography technique where you can photograph a subject in broad daylight and manipulate the camera settings to portray an invisible black background (also known as SQIBB: Studio Quality Invisible Black Background).

From the two images above, you can see that it was very bright in the area I was photographing. Despite this, I was able to use a fill flash and f/22 to create this beautiful background. I had someone hold the light at an angle to get a bit more dramatic side lighting on the hands and create some harsher shadows. The flash contained a Rogue flash bender curled into a snoot to give more of a spotlight effect.

studio quality invisible black background photography

In a room with very similar lighting as the first photo, I captured this portrait. The external flash still contained the Rogue flash bender curled into a snoot. Although, this time, it was opened a bit more to diffuse the light and not create such hard shadows on the face. I had my model sit on a chair and lean on the desk to give the effect of her resting on her hands. The light then was from a lower angle and creating a slight Rembrandt lighting effect on her face.

studio quality invisible black background photography

This final photo was taken with the baseball glove sitting on a desk. The light was angled to the right of the camera to highlight the ball in the glove, creating dark shadows on the bottom of the glove.

Overall, this style of photography is breathtaking when viewing the setup shot. It really shows how mastering your camera’s settings can make a difference in your photography.