Persistence pays off

solent · #1 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 09:55 AM

I took home a couple of ranunculus plants from work the other day to photograph. I was trying to take a flower 'portrait' but despite various experiments with lighting etc I couldn't get anything I liked - the photos just didn't 'work'. The first image shows the best I got. I don't know what's wrong with it but it just looks boring to me.

Over lunch I flicked through a flower photography book for ideas and realised I could do better by cropping in tighter with the macro lens. The second image is a close up of a single petal showing the wonderful texture with the lens as close as it would go. The third is a shot of another flower which was tighter in bud.

PhotosbyChuck · #2 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 10:37 AM

The first looks a bit flat, but honestly I think you just needed more light and a different angle to pull off that shot is all. The second and third are very nice. You might try the first again with a macro lens, focusing on the center. The blur created by the short DOF (like your second shot) will make the first more interesting.

Not being a flower person (despite my album) I had to look up the term "ranunculus" ... learning all the time!

RSStory · #3 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 10:38 AM

I actually like 2 and 3. I think the color and textures are really cool in these shots. Well done.

Scott

Arbib · #4 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 12:31 PM

#2 #3 are better., As others has said, lighting is very important in macro photography...You can make a few 3x3 card board reflectors that you can prop up with a stick in the ground...Aluminium Foil as the reflector,,and the other side you can paint white.....

Sidebar:----You can also use a 3x3 card board and paint the sides different colors for a instant background...Black, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow...to add a studio look.