focussing question

[leifus]

How do I get 'two planes' (is that the word?) in focus when taking flower photos? Is it possible with macro? I've tried experimenting with apperture but it doesnt seem to be working...

for example, with the frog orchid below, could I get the hood and the lip in focus at the same time?



thanks

[Ollie]

Difficult with macro, and it all depends on how close you are to the subject and what F stop you use.

In this instance I would probably have used f16/f18 with my Sigma 150mm lens and if I still couldn't get all the subject in focus that I wanted I would back off a bit until it looked sharp on the LCD and then rely on cropping it once on the PC to bring it closer.

[NickCantle]

Hello stranger

The answer is yes, you can (Sounds like a debt advice advert ). If you increase the f/number, then the plane of focus will be deeper. Say you used f/5.6 @ 100th sec here, then if you changed the f/number to say f/16, more would be in focus. Bear in mind that the higer the f/number, the longer your shutter needs to be open for! It's all a balance and all about sacrificing either shutter speed or depth of field, unless you have good enough light to get away with it!

I had the very same problem today- and quite often do when there's not enough light for a deep depth of field.

All comes with lots of practice and experimentation

[leifus]

Originally Posted by Ollie

Difficult with macro, and it all depends on how close you are to the subject and what F stop you use.

In this instance I would probably have used f16/f18 with my Sigma 150mm lens and if I still couldn't get all the subject in focus that I wanted I would back off a bit until it looked sharp on the LCD and then rely on cropping it once on the PC to bring it closer.

thanks very much I'll try experimenting more interesting you say backing off helps - I did that with a musk orchid and it worked fairly well...

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Hello stranger

The answer is yes, you can (Sounds like a debt advice advert ). If you increase the f/number, then the plane of focus will be deeper. Say you used f/5.6 @ 100th sec here, then if you changed the f/number to say f/16, more would be in focus. Bear in mind that the higer the f/number, the longer your shutter needs to be open for! It's all a balance and all about sacrificing either shutter speed or depth of field, unless you have good enough light to get away with it!

I had the very same problem today- and quite often do when there's not enough light for a deep depth of field.

All comes with lots of practice and experimentation

Hey ...stranger indeed haha

Right, I think I'll do plenty of practising before I see another rare orchid

ah well I'm fairly happy with that photo

thanks for the help

[NickCantle]

By the way, unless you're in a genuine rush, take your time with your images. I took a picture of some small skippers today and I was sat with them for about an hour and a half enjoying the process. I wanted to make sure I captured the moment best I could as I knew it would never happen again

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by leifus

thanks very much I'll try experimenting more interesting you say backing off helps - I did that with a musk orchid and it worked fairly well...

Yep if you back off a little, more of the subject will be in focus. Fair enough your subject will be a little smaller in the frame but it can help because you can use a lower f stop say f10 rather than f16 which will help keep the shutter speed up to give you a sharp photo that will stand a bit of cropping.

As Nick said it's practice and experimentation. The good thing about flowers is they aren't going to go anywhere so as long as you have plenty of battery life and memory card space you can take many photos at different settings to get the result you want.

[NickCantle]

Originally Posted by Ollie

As Nick said it's practice and experimentation. The good thing about flowers is they aren't going to go anywhere so as long as you have plenty of battery life and memory card space you can take many photos at different settings to get the result you want.

Though I swear whenever I get within a foot of one, the wind picks up

[Ollie]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Though I swear whenever I get within a foot of one, the wind picks up

I had exactly that problem yesterday Nick on a walk around my village. Must have spent at least 15 minutes trying to get a photograph of a Poppy. Everytime I had perfect focus a gust of wind would come along. Never did get a decent one

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

...Though I swear whenever I get within a foot of one, the wind picks up....

Originally Posted by Ollie

...Everytime I had perfect focus a gust of wind would come along....

Boy do I know that scenario

I took 46 photos of a compact rush recently, (I had my home made clamps on the stem, waited between each shot for the wind to drop, etc. etc.), and of the lot, only one was more or less movement free.

I suppose I could use flash, but I always aim to use natural light, and wind/lighting problems come with the territory. Although there is a sense of satisfaction when a good shot is obtained in such circumstances. (And all the stifled cursing at the elements is quickly forgotten ).

Regards
Mike.

[nightshade]

As has been said small aperture more depth of field but this comes with low shutter speeds, so now you need a flash or better still reflectors.
A 12" Lastolite is very useful or the ultimate a drop over light tent (around £20) solves the breeze problem as well. I have used those folding foil panels sold to go down the back of a radiator