# Total black background on photos



## Just_me (Sep 20, 2004)

I took a picture of my Rotala macandra "narrow Leaves" and to get a total black background it was a lot of work in a photo editing program.










Is there some way of minimizing this work when taking the photo?


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## neonfish3 (Feb 12, 2004)

What photo editing program are you using? If you have Photo Shop/Paint Shop it's pretty easy to cut out what you want with the lasso tool and paste it on a black background.
I'm not sure how its done with the camera, unless you have a photo tank with a black background.
Thats a beautiful pic. IMHO it could be cropped a little more.


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

Just to let you know, that is Rotala rotundifolia and not Rotala macrandra "Narrow Leaf".

Hope this helps,

Carlos


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Pedro,

I've been postponing the writing of a post that explains exactly the same thing that you are asking. There is a better and easier way (actually 2 ways) to isolate the object from the background and make the backround dark.

I will post the explanation tomorow or on Sunday.

--Nikolay


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## Just_me (Sep 20, 2004)

Tsunami, i tend to agree with you, maybe when planting i confused the stalks, but wouldn't you say this would be more likely to be the rotundifolia? (pardon for the non-edited photos)










and this the Macandra narrow leaves?










it's just that in the last weeks i hadn't had the time to attend so much to the tank needs and they are showing up that lack of care, that pearling shot was 1 hour after a fertilization past due for days...and the leave morphology is so much more like to other (my thought) macandra stalks, the colors, well the colors will get there in time... this little fellow was covered in algae without acess to much light.

and the algae shown above...well, just what i deserve for not giving enough attention to the tank! Now i'll spend 5 times more time than what i would have spent, just to fight them.

neonfish3,

i am not using photoshop, this one was done in photofiltre, a quick and free editing program that does not take much resources, i'm still training my skills in photoshop.

but still, the "manual" lasso tool is almost what i have done here, but i'm afraid it would not work very well.

here's a downsized original version of that photo:










as you see overlaping leaves were cut and i would not believe a tool such has that one, knows what's 1 leave and what's the other, with all that tones of green, red, etc...

Niko, looking forward for that post ,

thanks everybody

Pedro Alves


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## Just_me (Sep 20, 2004)

Tsunami, forget it, it could never be Rotala Macandra "Narrow leaf", maybe an error from the shipper and it's the "green" one?


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Pedro,

Here it is - click here.

--Nikolay


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## MiamiAG (Jan 13, 2004)

I don't take great pictures, but I think your photo is very well done. I'm looking forward to reading Niko's tutorial.


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