SHOOTING STEPS
1
SET UP YOUR STUDIO Prepare your space before the subject arrives. Here I put up a 2x1.5m foldable black background behind a platform. Make sure the platform is firm and stable. Point the strobe (equipped with an octabox) towards the place the dog’s face will be.
2
ADD IN REFLECTORS Position reflectors on both sides of the setup, angled towards the light source and near to the dog (around 30cm) to give beautiful rim lighting on the black fur. Another reflector under the chin of the dog will ensure that the fur under the snout isn’t too dark.
3
CAMERA SETTINGS Choose an aperture of around f/9. With a focal length in the normal range you should get a pleasant depth of field, with the eyes as well as the nose in focus. Set your shutter speed to the synchronisation speed of your strobe. This should be around 1/160 to 1/250sec.
4
ADD IN A FURRY FRIEND Position your dog on the platform to make sure they’re in the right place. Position your strobe with the equipped octabox towards the dog’s face, and link it to the camera. I use a transmitter sender set by Jinbei.
5WHETHER
TAKE A TEST SHOT Check the background looks black. If not, position the dog and light further away from the background. Check the rim lighting on the dog. Are the reflectors properly positioned to highlight the pet’s contours? To give a rim light, position them slightly behind the dog’s shoulders.
6
OVEREXPOSE Overexpose your picture slightly to make sure you capture all details in the fur. You can reduce the brightness in Photoshop later – just make sure the highlights are not burnt out. Even if the fur is black, there are parts that will appear pitch-black while others, hit by the light more directly, will be quite bright.