I have learned that good photographers have to have a curious mind. I have also learned great photographers have to put their questions into action. As a curious photographer, I wondered how certain photos were taken, especially photos that have an all-black background. I recently learned how to take SQIBB photos by a mentor of mine, Caryn Esplin. The technique is to take a photo with an all black background, no matter where you are. She refers to this technique as SQIBB: Studio Quality Invisible Black Background. All I used was my camera, a speed flash, and a flash bender. Those simple three objects made an ordinary room and set up turn into a professional photo.

Putting the Studio Quality Black Background Technique into Practice

I put this practice to the test and through trial and error took these photos.

SQUIBB Takes Time

SQIBB photography takes some time to learn. Through trial and error, I learned you can take ordinary pictures extraordinarily by using this technique. I took this technique one step further and tried it on a self-portrait as well. In each of the photos, the room was well lit. I simply adjusted my camera settings and when I would take the photo, the background would become all-black. The idea is to make it look as if I was inside of a studio with an all-black backdrop with professional lighting. Then the real fun occurs in Adobe Photoshop to get the lighting and colors just right.

This photo was first taken for SQIBB and then I turned it into my mock movie poster, go check it out!

If you want to learn how to do it by yourself or see how I went about it, you can watch a tutorial by Glyn Dewis as he takes you step by step through the Studio Quality Black Background Technique.