Backyard Iris

bhundt

I was just going through some photo's that I Shot this past summer (trying to remember what warmth feels like) and came across this Iris that I shot in my backyard.

DonRicklin

Looks like a Common Tawny Daylily to me! Nice shot, though!

Don

bhundt

Thanks for the clarification, you'd think I would now what's growing in my backyard

JSPhotography

So, how did you get the black background? I tried this the other day with no success.

basflt

JSPhotography wrote: »

So, how did you get the black background? I tried this the other day with no success.

its the result of flash

bhundt

Actually I checked the history of the shot and the flash did not fire. I took a series of photo's of the flower, trying many different settings and this one and a couple of others ended up with the background nearly black. I also enhanced it a bit in photoshop. It was shot at F22 with a 1/1600 shutter speed with an iso of 1600. An iso of 1600 certainly was not needed on a sunny summer day and may have contributed to the darker background, but that's just a guess. If I have time with a subject I will usually try lots of different settings and sometimes you get unexpected positive results.

rob marshall

JSPhotography wrote: »

So, how did you get the black background? I tried this the other day with no success.

Just use a round reflector utilizing the black surface. Prop it behind the flower. If you have someone helping you, you can also use the diffuser section held over the flower to diffuse the strong sunlight and keep the extreme shadows out. Here... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ex-Pro-Photographic-Light-Reflector-Collapsible/dp/B000RGPUKM/ref=pd_cp_ce_1

Lord Vetinari

Certainly has a nice warm feeling - lovely capture !
Brian V.

JSPhotography

basflt wrote: »

its the result of flash

Flash is how I tried to accomplish the black background. My problem was even though I had a greater distance behind the subject than the camera to subject distance I could not seem to find a flash setting that worked. Either the background showed or the subject was underexposed.

I have also heard about using a backdrop. I think I was told to use black velvet. I would rather accomplish it with a lighting technique.

Maybe I'll throw this up in technique.

lifeinfocus

JSPhotography wrote: »

So, how did you get the black background? I tried this the other day with no success.

JSPhotography wrote: »

Flash is how I tried to accomplish the black background. My problem was even though I had a greater distance behind the subject than the camera to subject distance I could not seem to find a flash setting that worked. Either the background showed or the subject was underexposed.

I have also heard about using a backdrop. I think I was told to use black velvet. I would rather accomplish it with a lighting technique.

Maybe I'll throw this up in technique.

I have used a black felt background that I made. I bought a canvas art frame and stapled on black felt then just prop it up. It works well and easy to clean after.

You can also underexpose the shot as I did with this photo of an iris today. It was a bright and windy day at about 4:30pm with the light overhead to a little in the background.
20110601 Iris DSC_2039 Smug Upload.jpg