Plate 3:  A yard-wide roll of heavy black paper
(This plate added FEB 2004)

HE three-yard roll of yard-wide black paper seen in the accompanying photo was purchased from an art-supply store. The paper can be used to cover any non-black surfaces that might accidentally appear in a photograph of a small display.
For example, suppose the photographer's removable black setting for small displays is placed upon the cabinet-top, and the photograph happens to include part of a wall, or perhaps the front of the cabinet. These surfaces can be draped with black paper to prevent unwelcome intrusions of non-black surroundings in the photo. --more--
It can be argued that the use of black background paper is not necessary, since intrusive non-black surfaces can be removed from a photograph by cropping. However, cropping necessarily reduces the scope of a photo, while the presence of a prepared black background provides more latitude for the photographer, who might not always want a closely-cropped photograph. Go to top of page