The Flash Photography Field Guide

Making Black stand Out Against Black

Making a black subject stand out from a black background—while still making both subject and background remain black rather than a dark gray— can present quite a big challenge.

The best way to manage is to use rim-lights to shine a subtle edge of light on your subject. It’s this highlight right at the edge of the subject that makes them stand out from the background and creates a three-dimensional look. If the subject needs to be shown full-length, it makes things even trickier. Essentially, you have to use lights that are capable of shining a full-length highlight down the side of the whole subject, which means the size of the light almost needs to equal the size of the subject. If the subject is a person, ...