A10 Photographing Black Clothing

[A Sunflower]

I am new to it all --- photography and digital photography. Can any one give me basic help in photographing black clothing so that the detail is visible? Suggest a book to read? Lighting? Filter?
Yow I don't know much...
Susan

[bongo]

use a flash :)

seriously, i have no probs taking pictures of black clothing, esp. if you can take the shots in sunlight...or flash....experimen a bit and have fun...

[A Sunflower]

I have experimented until it is no longer fun :{
When I use the flash inside all the detail in black clothing disappear. No problem with red, blue, yellow, prints. This is "fashion photography" and I am shooting black against a white background. Too much contrast? Maybe against another color?
Thanks,
Susan

[JohnMN]

Hi A Flower,

Yes it certainly is an exposure problem. Black and white are the two extremes in terms of exposure. Too much black or any dark colour will cause the iris in the camera to open up an overexpose the scene and may cause burn out. The opposite happens when taking pictures of bright or lightly coloured objects. The iris closes down and underexposes the subject. That's why taking pictures of snow looks more grey than white. For the black clothing, you could try closing the iris down (don't know if this available on the A10) or selecting a higher shutter speed, this has the same effect. You will need to hold the camera steady or put it on a tripod and any movement may have a 'streaking' effect.

JohnMN