In January of 2023, I made my way North to photograph a friends equines. She wants portraits that would be lasting of them. Portraits that rivaled what you can find on Pinterest.

I was so excited I decide to invest in new lighting to achieve some of the looks she was looking for. And thus a learning curve to figuring the lights out but in the end I created some pretty awesome equine portraits on a natural black backdrop.

Natural Black Backdrop also known as the Invisible Background is a unique shooting style that photographers can use to create portrait like the one above. It is a great technique to learn.

How to recreate the Invisible Background

1. Place Camera in Manual Mode

2. You need a low ISO: 100-125

3. Set F stop to 5.6 or in that range.

4. Shutter speed around 1/250 (may take adjustment depending on natural lighting)

5. Speed lights (have them set forward to highlight subject as needed).

These are the basics. There is no perfect formula because every location you are shooting can have different lighting, and changes the needs to make a natural backdrop. The key is to play, have fun, and never get frustrated you may not make a perfect black backdrop but you can fix and make adjustments in post.