• Home
  • About Alex Wild
  • Articles
  • Galleries
  • Myrmecology News

Myrmecos Blog

the little things matter

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Feeling too skinny?
Friday Beetle Blogging: Giant Tiger Beetle »

Black backgrounds in macro photography?

January 22, 2009 by myrmecos

Dalantech over at the No Cropping Zone writes:

From time to time I see people argue about the backgrounds in macro images, and about how dark backgrounds don’t look natural –whatever the heck that means. Seriously what’s natural about macro photography? Do you see all the detail in a bee’s compound eye or the tiny “hairs” that cover most leaves without the aid of some sort of magnifier?

I think Dalantech is entirely correct in that arguments about the naturalness of black backdrops are unconvincing.  There are many reasons to take photographs, and capturing an animal in a particular environment is only one of them.

Having said that, though, I’ve never been overly fond of the black background, even though I use it occasionally as a compositional device.  Black is in some respects a default setting for macro.  If you use a flash pointed away from the backdrop and a fast shutter speed, the background will fade to black as a matter of course.  Consequently, there are piles of black-backdrop macros floating around.  Sort of like turtlenecks at an art museum.  Enough to border on the monotonous.

Since black can be produced by accident, lots of those black background photos are themselves accidental, snapped without any attempt at composition.  They’re just more bad bug-on-a-flower-shots.  And as I get sick of seeing them, I go off black backgrounds generally.  Guilt by association.

Of course, my opinion is deeply unfair.  Dalantech’s photos are carefully composed and really superb.  Black is part of his distinctive style, and no one would argue that he’s just another guy taking happy snaps of bugs-on-flowers.  Maybe I’m just a big fan of white.  Which never ever gets monotonous, no?

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Tricks of the Trade | Tagged composition, macrophotography, Photography, the new black | 6 Comments

6 Responses

  1. on January 22, 2009 at 8:49 am MrILoveTheAnts

    I think if there were more White ants floating around for people to take pictures of, Black would be more of a standard. White backgrounds highlight the shape and form of the insects. Though black does the same thing, the effect is somewhat diminished on ants that tend to be darker reds, blacks, and browns. Black does work though with lighter colored ants, which are mostly subterranean anyhow like Lasius claviger.

    White has the added benefit of being associated with so many commercials that really try to highlight the product. It looks clean.

    Black seems unnecessary most of the time. It implies the photographer was taking pictures at night. I think this works for insects you usually see at night or in dark places, though.

    It just depends on the insect.


  2. on January 22, 2009 at 3:29 pm Seabrooke

    I find your opinion curious since when one goes to your website, on your frontpage all your photos are of macro insects on black backgrounds… or have you just not got around to changing out the photos yet? 🙂


  3. on January 22, 2009 at 3:35 pm myrmecos

    Seabrooke- I was hoping no one would bring that up.

    Yeah, the black background of the front page slideshow was an aesthetic decision so that the opening slides would merge with the dark design of the site.

    When I was building the site I actually had to go take an additional photo (the grasshopper) because I didn’t have enough good black macros in my collection.


  4. on January 22, 2009 at 3:40 pm Aydin

    If you are taking macroshots of white snail shells, you need a black background.


  5. on January 25, 2009 at 3:24 am Kolby

    To quote the notorious Michael Jackson, “It Don’t Matter If You’re Black Or White”. I tend to shoot at night “on the scene” shots, so until I can figure out how to pack a white cardboard box to shoot in, I’m probably going to stick with the non-accidental black backgrounds.

    What I really want to know is what the new “white” will be once people get sick of it? Maybe I can get a jump start. 🙂


  6. on February 2, 2010 at 10:04 pm Mailbag: How to light a photo backdrop with the MP-E lens « Myrmecos Blog

    […] Earlier, I wrote that the black backdrop in insect macrophotography with flash is often a sort of default setting.  When bright flash is applied to a subject in the foreground, the background will fade to black as a matter of course.  Consider this shot of Acacia ants taken in a Panamanian forest: Pseudomyrmex spinicola on their nest thorn, Panama […]



Comments are closed.


  • This blog is an archive; the Myrmecos blog has moved.

    Please update your bookmarks!
  • Alex’s Galleries

    alexanderwild.com

  • Recent Photos

    Faro de Punta FrouxeiraEnfin tranquille !OrtaköySpringtime - FinallyLUMINOUS LYON - Lyon, FranceSauna
    More Photos
  • Biology Links

    • Tree of Life
    • Understanding Evolution
  • Blogroll

    • Ainsley Vs Livejournal
    • Ammonite
    • Anna’s Bee World
    • Archetype
    • Arthropoda blog
    • Backyard Arthropod Project
    • Beetles in the Bush
    • biodiversity in focus
    • Bug Dreams
    • Bug Eric
    • Bug Girl’s Blog
    • Burrard-Lucas Photoblog
    • Catalogue of Organisms
    • Creature Cast
    • Dan Heller
    • Debbie's Insect Blog
    • Dechronization
    • Drawing the MotMot
    • Entomoblog
    • Evolving Thoughts
    • Fall to Climb
    • Generant
    • Historias de Hormigas
    • Life on Six Legs
    • Macromite
    • microecos
    • mirmekolozi
    • myrmecoid
    • Myrmician
    • Natural Imagery
    • Nature in the Ozarks
    • NCSU Insect Blog
    • No Cropping Zone
    • omit needless words
    • Photo Synthesis
    • Princess Peppercloud
    • Science Blogs
    • Snail’s Tales
    • Stu Jenks
    • The Ant Hunter
    • The Ant Room
    • The Bug Whisperer
    • The Loom
    • This Week in Evolution
    • What's Bugging You?
    • Wild about Ants
    • Xenogere
  • Insect Links

    • Ant Farm Forum
    • Ant Insights
    • Antweb
    • Bug Squad
    • bugguide.net
    • Xerces Society
  • Photography Links

    • Canon Photography Forums
    • Digital Photography Review
    • DIY Photography
    • Igor Siwanowicz
    • Mark Plonsky
    • photo.net
    • Piotr Naskrecki
    • The Strobist
  • Popular Posts

    • Things that look like ants but aren't (Part 2)
    • How to Identify Queen Ants
    • What does it mean to be an eyeless ant?
    • The Rogue Taxonomist
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: The Eyed Elater
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: Nicrophorus orbicollis
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: Palo Verde Beetle
    • North America's charming citronella ants
    • The eggs that weren't
    • These aren't eggs...
  • Recent Posts

    • This blog has moved.
    • Friday Beetle Blogging: The Hollyhock Weevil
    • The Friday Beetle will be late…
    • Bed bugs reach an all-time high
    • Answer to the Monday Night Mystery
  • Recent Comments

    • Donald Byron Johnson on Reader question: who discovered the sex of ant workers?
    • Anonymous on Update on the Rogue Taxonomist
    • Ant on Arizona Daily Star covers “Planet of the Ants”
    • Ga. Girl on Beware the Cow-Killer
    • Anonymous on Beware the Cow-Killer
  • Categories

  • Archives

  • animation Ants aphids arachnids Argentina arizona army ants art Bees beetles behavior biodiversity biology Biology Links bugs Canon carabidae coleoptera copyright Darwin desert diptera E. O. Wilson ecology entomology Evolution fail fire ants Flies formicidae genetics google haiku Harpegnathos imaging Insect Links Insects invasive species lighting Linepithema macro macrophotography macro photography Martialis media miniscule muppets music myrmecology mystery natural history Nature new species odontomachus Parasites Paratrechina pests pheidole Photography Photography business photoshop phylogenetics phylogeny Pogonomyrmex politics predation Scarabaeidae Science SEM social insects spiders Taxonomy termites travel wasps
  • Nature Blog Network
    Add to Technorati Favorites

    Follow this blog

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Myrmecos Blog
    • Join 90 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Myrmecos Blog
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: