opinion on this please

racefan

trying something for me.
I do have a question, whats the best way to get as much of the flower in focus and as sharp as possible. Im using a tamron 180 macro, tripod, remote and a sb700 flash of camera. Setting M, f/32 shutter 1/250, iso 200. Thanks

IPClark

Hi,

First thing to notice is that the light is extremely harsh on this image and you're losing a lot of the image due to black clipping. Have you diffused your flash? If not, then I'd recommend a few sheets of kitchen roll, styrofoam sheet or Vellum paper to soften that flash.

Whilst F32 will give you lots of DoF, you'll also get a lot of diffraction and I expect your flash is also over-compensating if it has the ability to auto adjust (ETTL style). That said, If you're using a Nikon, I'm sure I saw something about the F Stops of a Nikon being different to a Canon (particularly for Macro). I know one guy elsewhere ends up using something mad like F56 or something!.

Either way, if you want the whole flower in focus perhaps focus stacking would be the solution but I'd certainly look to soften your flash first.

Hope this is of some assistance.

Lord Vetinari

Agree with Ian
Brian v.

basflt

On Nikons F32 can be used , on Canon not.
Since you use a tripod you can use a slower shutterspeed , that will reduce the dark background

paddler4

I agree with Ian--the major issue in my opinion is that the image is very harsh. This is probably primarily the undiffused flash, but postprocessing might have contributed.

First, re DOF: because extremely fine detail is often not critical for flower macros, my experience is that I can stop down quite far before diffusion is an issue. for example, here is an image I captured with available light when I was starting with flower macros:



I believe this was f/20 (XTi, EF-S 60mm macro), but I did not know what I was doing back then, and I somehow stripped off the exif information. I've printed this at 8 x 10, and it is fine. However, beyond f/20 of f/22, diffusion becomes more serious.

For increased DOF, I generally use focus stacking (Zerene, and with flowers, usually the DMap algorithm). However, this requires that the flower not be blowing around, because the images need to be aligned. This is one reason I do a lot of my flower macros indoors. Another advantage of shooting indoors is that it gives you control over the background, if you want a plain (e.e., all black) background.

Re lighting: it has to be diffused. Diffused flash is one option. Holding a small diffuser between the sun and the flower is an option. (I carry a very small Westcott for this.) Indoors, you can control it more easily. I use a combination of diffused direct lighting and bounced lighting from an umbrella, depending on the image. I use 50W and 75W halogen lights, which require long exposures. For diffusion, I used to use a Manfrotto diffusion pack, but I found that I get good results with sheets of the baking parchment my wife uses in the kitchen. I'll post the setup for one picture below, followed by the image.

I hope this helps.

racefan

so i have an sb700 flash how do i soften the flash, just use something to bounce the light off.

im wanting this style with this flower and the black back ground so i can do a 24x36 print for my living room, i want to get as much detail as possible.

paddler4

You could try bouncing it. That might be soft enough. However, another problem is that if the background is close and the light is pointing toward it, it may not come out as fully black, and you may need to focus it in postprocessing.

The rig I showed is very good for detailed flower shots with black backgrounds. That is what the black fleece jacket at the right is -- it's my black background. Instead of dedicated "hair" lights like the ones in my rig, which cost me about $80 each, you can do the same thing with any incandescent or halogen lights that you can aim. I used to do this with two reading lights from our living room. This may seem like a pain in the rear, but the fact is that careful lighting really is the key to flower shots.

For maximum detail, you will either need a flower that is flat and nearly parallel to the sensor, or you will have to focus-stack. Focus stacking will also let you shoot at an aperture that wioll get you maximum sharpness, say, around f/8, and still get good DOF. Most of my images of that sort are stacked.

I'll post a few that were done either with the rig I showed or reading lights. All are stacked.

racefan

heres another one that i took with a home made diffuser (i just took some card board and wrapped it in wrapping paper / white side out) and bounced the flash off of that and i can see in the difference that it makes thanks for the help. This is being shot outside in the yard.

paddler4 do you think a couple desk top lights will work, wont pointing a light straight at the flower show up on the black back ground ? Is there a good free focus stacking software to use ?

paddler4

Racefan,

There are lots of options for stacking. I and many other people here use Zerene, which has a number of very useful features. Other options include photoshop, Combine (free), and Helicon.

Any lights will work, if you have them positioned right. I've used a desk lamp for a few, and I have one some with just the light from halogen pendants hanging over my breakfast table. However, it is best to have lights that you can aim, because different flowers will look good with different lighting.

If you aim the light straight back, the background will show if it is not far back. Often, I have the lights aimed at an angle, and the background is fine. When it is not, I use photoshop to get rid of it. I select the background in a layer (you can create a selection by color) and then use a levels adjustment to turn it completely black. I don't have to do that often.