Photography has always been a mix of science and soul. This post is about what happens when you strip the first away and leave only the second, a simple black backdrop, natural light, and the quiet conversation between photographer and subject.

I don’t think I’ll ever know which came first, but I have always enjoyed black and white and strong contrasty images. The two go together hand in glove. Part of that has to be down to my formative days, printing in my darkroom when you brought your own photographs to life and that, for me, created a bias towards black and white images. But I was also working in the industry assisting other photographers at a time when black and white photography was a singular art form and the models were treated like royalty. The nineties were chaotic, but looking back they were also golden. Plus the decade had a great backing track of some of the finest music.

Making set pieces

So, whilst this post is about a recent fascination with a rather specific set piece, I also realise it is rather cathartic as I am relieving a past life.

Five years ago I decided to pick up the camera again after a long hiatus. Parenthood and building a business (or two) are important areas of passion leaving little room for frivolity. But perhaps the one small benefit of getting older is you learn to balance life as the opportunities present themselves. Covid forced us all to work from home and I decided to revisit some basic studio photography at home. I bought some very simple black cloth as a backdrop to hang in my tiny study and along with a basic flash head began to experiment with portraiture again. Mere moments later and I was hooked, the time machine experiment had worked and I was enjoying retracing my steps from the nineties (over two decades earlier).

In 2021 I had an old garage converted into a dedicated studio space and soon I was taking photos of people and models that truly reminded me of that past life. I love the science behind photography, getting the flash right and experimenting with techniques around the edges to mix up the process. But as the restrictions of covid relaxed I soon found my way into daylight studios and was quickly reminded how enjoyable it was to make the image about the person and not focus on the science. Despite my background, I find the challenge of working with the light that the day provides more enjoyable than fussing with sync speeds and recharge rates of flash heads.

*Anna in France*

The images in this post all share the same backdrop, the same soft daylight (no flash) and have all been taken with a 50 mm or 85 mm lens. The rest is all down to the person in the photo. Plus all of these portraits were taken with models and friends I’ve met through recent projects in France, London, and Italy in the past 12 months.

Back to basics

My house is filled with books by photographers that I admire and the images that I always come back to are taken in daylight. When it comes down to it, good photographers are measured by their ability to capture a moment and often that moment is curated by a connection and not a balance of ISO versus shutter speed.

So this preamble is to explain why I believe it is cathartic to let go of that science and leave only one thing on the table, a very simple canvas for you and your subject to work together.

I say canvas, what I really mean is a piece of black cloth…

For the avoidance of doubt I am referring to nothing more than a backdrop of black cotton and two stands to hold it in place. The simplicity does two very obvious things. Firstly it is very consistent, everyone is treated equally. Secondly, it is very portable. You can be at home or abroad but anyone you capture in this setup is invited to work in the same envelope. In my mind it is a very simple benchmark, my job is clear, I have to make the moment and justify the image. By removing the support structure of a typical studio you have to rely on something much more basic, something more honest and that is simply how you connect with the person in front of your camera.

*Irina in France*

Tried and tested

I’m not going to use this post to describe my approach to capturing people (I have a past post dedicated to that) but here I wanted to focus on the merits of creating a simple canvas that unshackles the complexity and forces you to focus on the human. I like the stark, black background for a few reasons but in truth this idea can be applied to any background. Some of my favourite shots of my kids were taken against a roller shutter or a painted concrete wall at the end of our street. I knew these options were there and what they would do, this meant that, for me, how my kids reacted would be the focus.

So that is the reason why I find this rather niche idea of a single and repeatable backdrop to be of interest. However, I would be lying if I didn’t also acknowledge a heavy influence of photographers from the nineties who also enjoyed the very same medium. Peter Lindburgh is a card carrying member of the black backdrop fan club and in truth he and his big team would take the concept and run with it to create his incredible outdoor studio set ups. Be he on a beach or in a desert, they would create a mini tent for daylight and model to be invited into and that would create this extraordinarily simple and yet impactful look. The simple, flat light ensured that the focus was on the human and combine that with his talent and the amazing people he frequented the results were stunning. Annie Leibovitz also enjoyed the same big theatre but simple set up look. And whilst we are here, Irving Penn' s book Worlds in a Small Room heralded from the same place and Mario Testino has recently been working on a similar project. The objective is tried and tested, keep the look the same so as to showcase the people.

*Claire in France*

Make it your own

Art is always an expression of one's self, but it is hard not to be influenced by others you admire and photography much like music is a genre where many of the notes have been played before in similar order. So as with all things creative, it is important to respect and appreciate those influences, but to also apply your own vision. To that end, I have very much enjoyed using this super simple set up, just one piece of fabric and a stand to hold it as a common medium to set a generic baseline that allows each person I have photographed to be themselves. Their own private canvas.

For the purposes of this post I am sharing photographs that fit this narrative but are limited to being taken in the last twelve months. The oldest being taken with Nausicaa Yami who is something of a consistent inspiration for me.

*Petra in France*

Nausicaa Yami kicking off this concept with me back in 2024

Two worlds

The images I have selected here are often the ones I am drawn to. I always shoot the traditional ‘straight on’ shots, but I love to include the context in the composition and it doesn’t hurt when the background is an interesting location.

That juxtaposition is just so enjoyable to capture, but again, it’s just a background I always aim to make the subject the focus. By letting them do the talking the backdrop is …. well quite literally no more than a background.

*Karina in France*

Simple and honest

I can’t claim to be an expert in this genre, but I do know that it is far easier to take a bad art nude image than it is to make a good one. As before, my take on this is the same, keep it simple and honest. I said as much to Irina when we walked towards this set, explaining the curious location for the backdrop (hidden between two hedges and under a tree). I had found the perfect light, it was just in an odd place! I wanted to provide a canvas for Irina to be herself.

Let the backdrop disapear and the dappled light through the leaves be simple. All that was left was Irina and my 50 mm lens.

*Irina in France*

Be different

This poor backdrop has been all over the place with me and subjected to all kinds of mishandling. But then again, it is cloth and does a good job of being washed out. Something that is necessary when you drag it over the floor to convert it into a long train for an evening gown.

Marisa here is doing a grand job of pretending this is all perfectly normal. For the record, she found the dress in a second hand shop for £9 and I suggested we add to it. Nothing more than a bit of fun.

*Marisa in London*

Continuing the theme

I think this just underscores the point that it’s fun to complement the moment. There is always another way to use the same backdrop in context and this was yet another concept that I had in my head when I first saw these steps.

Irina borrowed the dress from Claire and the rest is all her. In truth I prefer the closer, more portraity shots from this set, but I wanted to humour this post with yet another shot of me using this backdrop in a curious way. It’s also representative of what goes on in my head!

*Irina in France*

The bonus set

This is Tezz being herself in Italy almost two months ago now. As I mentioned earlier, the nice thing about a portable studio is you can create that consistent look in almost any situation. Our morning had been spent on location and we’d returned to the villa for a rest and some lunch. But after we had relaxed we took these ad-hoc shots. They were a bonus in that the planned shots had been taken and these were optional extras.

I hung the backdrop with some clips on the drain pipe of our villa using a wall that faced away from the light. The sun was high in the sky and by rights it was a time to avoid shooting for this kind of look. But by creating a setup in the shade of the wall I could control this soft light.

Tezz was then left to just be herself in the calm of the light and the warmth of the Tuscan afternoon. Much like the shot of Irina earlier, this (I hope you agree) is just an honest shot of a person being themselves. Tezz and a 50 mm lens combined with the worlds cheapest backdrop and free light. What’s not to love about that!

*Tezz in Italy*

In summary, this is not a complex set up, but one that I have enjoyed taking with me on shoots home and abroad. I love how it unifies everyone I have photographed whilst also allowing them to be themselves; unique. Unlike most things in photography, this is a very cheap set up and it travels well. You don’t have to go with a black backdrop if (unlike me) you are not stuck in the 90’s. But the concept is easy to apply to many other fabric backdrops. Find something that works for you and see if you can make it suit your style. For the record, I own lots of fabric for the same purpose and enjoy my red equivalent from time to time (yes, shock horror, I like colour photographs too).

I hope you enjoyed this post. It started as a bit of a tutorial, or rather a peek into my world, but moved quickly into a simple story of how I like to create. Now go create something for yourself!

Below are a few more shots that I wanted to include in this post. All of these were taken in the last 12 months, starting with the shot of Nausicaa Yami above taken in November last year.