Photographing White Flowers

[wildlifesnapper]

Hi Jenny,

well there's plenty of detail in the whites so the exposure is ok.Like rich says they just need tweeking with your software to bring them to there best.

Nice shots

neil

[Geoff F]

Fully agree with the avoiding direct sunshine tip. Another problem is waiting for a windless day. In reality there aren't many ideal flower photographing days in the average year. Use spot metering to calculate the exposure and adjust slightly as required.

With some types of flower it can be difficult to get the colours correct but a Custom White Balance is worth trying. I know it can be a bit of a chore but often it will save the day. Shooting RAW will give you a second chance at White Balance. Sometimes adjusting the Colour Temperture during RAW conversion helps.

[wildlifesnapper]

Hi,

there are loads of days for photographing flowers, you just make your own ideals
In bright sunlight cast a shadow with a lastotite type reflector , your body your coat or you can buy a diffuser for the job.
Use a reflector to bounce light back onto the shadow side if it's a colourful flower.I use a little home made one which is cardboard covered in tinfoil.
Don't wait for a windless day stick the camera on a tripod and use a cable release.If you have mirror lock-up(400d has it), use it and wait for a lull in the breeze, it will come. Just don't look away or that's when the flower will stop moving.Shelter the flower from the breeze , use your camera bag or take off your coat and us it as a wind break.Many a time I've laid at the side of small flowers and held my coat out above my body the shelter it.

These are just a few I use , there must be loads more

Good luck,

neil

[jennyb]

Originally Posted by Geoff F

Fully agree with the avoiding direct sunshine tip. Another problem is waiting for a windless day. In reality there aren't many ideal flower photographing days in the average year. Use spot metering to calculate the exposure and adjust slightly as required.

With some types of flower it can be difficult to get the colours correct but a Custom White Balance is worth trying. I know it can be a bit of a chore but often it will save the day. Shooting RAW will give you a second chance at White Balance. Sometimes adjusting the Colour Temperture during RAW conversion helps.

I was using evaluative metering and white balance set to shade (7000). Maybe I should be experimenting more with these? I don't shoot raw - I have not yet plucked up courage!

Many thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I am hoping for a decent day next weekend to try out some of the tips before the snowdrops are finished.

Jenny

[peterjclarke]

All the above comments seem pretty good to me. I have often used knitting needles and wire ties to steady plants when photographing them on windier days (I now own a couple of Wimberly Plamps). Of course you have to be careful because most wild flowers are protected by law and there are some rare plants (orchids etc) which are schedule 8 (I believe) which have severe restrictions in place. Rightfully I should have a complex about plant photography because my father is one of the country's top professional plant photographers. I was holding lastolites from a very early age... I still have the scars!!!!

[Jon]

Jenny when phtographing white flowers you will need to consider increasing exposure slighlty. At first this sounds back to front but it isn't - Your meter will try to underexpose those whites. Secondly as was previously mentioned try to phtograph them in subdued light then you will get less flare. Thirdly use the histogram, try to fill it up to the right but don't get blown highlights.
When processing open the raw file and using the white balance tool click on the white flower before adjusting levels contrast etc. Your shots don't look bad - don't forget to sharpen them.

To keep the capture sharp use a cable release or remote timer and obviously ensure the subject is still. Either tripod or bean bag are essential.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[gfilmsuk]

Hi Jenny
I would rather photograph plants on a bright sunny day purely for the strength and quality of the light, but you must difuse it.
Get yourself a small Lastolite reflector. They fold up quite small and can be carried easily. You have several options including a difuser which will do the trick in bright sunlight. Just plase the difuser between the sun and your subject, close for more effect or further back for more subtle difusing.
Photographing plants on overcast days will reduce shaddow etc but I find you then need to bounce light back onto the subject to get the desired effect. Depth of field can also be a problem, you want as much of the plant in focus but isolate it from the background. Create yourself a fake background from a piece of black mounting card bought from any art supply shop. Daub some vertical lines on the card using greens, browns etc, dont try and do a painting of plants, you just need shapes, lines etc with rough edges. Start with an all-over darkish green and gradually add streaks of lighter shades of geens and browns, any old paint will do.
Place this behind your subject, not too close, and you will find that you can select apertures of f8, f11, f16 without bringing the background into focus. A longer lens is excellent as oposed to a wide angle or close-up. Set your camera up well back from the subject and zoom in. This will compress the picture and make the background appear much nearer to the subject than it really is giving a natural and undetectable look.
Experiment with your set-up and camera settings and you'll find yourself hooked on plant photography. If you're serious, an angle finder is a very worthwhile addition to the camera bag.
I made a large difuser a few years ago which I still have and lives in the boot of the car. I bought 2m x 2m of the material, and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called, for about 6 quid. I stitched all the way around the edge to create a wide hem and then threaded into the hem this white water pipe you can buy from any DIY store. The corners are the bends, or elbows or whatever the correct plumbing jargon is. The whole thing just pushes together and is ready for use in about 30 seconds.
Dave

[gfilmsuk]

Thanks Jenny, you have a brilliant web-site. You must have the patience of a saint waiting for that mole to pop-up out of the ground. Lovely pics of the woodland mouse.
Thanks for sharing that.
Dave

[jennyb]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I have a lot to think about and realise that if I am going to do this properly I need to use reflectors/diffusers to get the light right. I will also pay more attention to the histogram. The background is a great idea for flowers that have located themselves in an unphotogenic position and most difficult of all I need some decent weather!

Jenny