Flower & Seashell Collection
Tony Britton
Registered Users Posts: 345 Major grins
Hello,
I wanted to share a few of my favorite photos featuring flowers & seashells. Playing with light & shadow and bursts of color is the inspiration behind these photos.
The seashell & flower images featuring a black background involved the use of black foam core board. These are enjoyable indoor projects, especially on rainy days. I Hope you like them!
Tony
I wanted to share a few of my favorite photos featuring flowers & seashells. Playing with light & shadow and bursts of color is the inspiration behind these photos.
The seashell & flower images featuring a black background involved the use of black foam core board. These are enjoyable indoor projects, especially on rainy days. I Hope you like them!
Tony
1
Comments
Best regards,
Tony
https://tonybritton.smugmug.com/
Even Broken Hearts Can Shine Again
www.mind-driftphoto.com
Tony
Tony
Sam
I'm glad you like these photos! I'd be happy to share!
When projects like these turn out well, the photos can convey a sense of time consuming, technically demanding "studio" shots, suggesting the use of exotic lighting equipment, for example. Yet in fact, these photos were taken on a card table. And the room needn't be terribly dark to create these types of images. Fast shutter speeds and high aperture values along with generous amounts of negative Exposure Compensation provide enough reduction in ambient light to make that so.
I use sheets of black foam core board, one of which has a small hole punched through it. I place the seashell directly on the foam core and I usually hand-hold a high lumen flashlight to light my seashells. For my "illuminated" seashell shots I place the shell over the hole in the foam core and light the shell from underneath. Of course, it works best with "thin-walled" shells. With my flower photos I can even preserve the flower, stem and all, by passing the stem through the hole. I place the seashells on a small mirror, then the mirror on the foam core to achieve the wonderful reflection style images.
I use a tripod, select Macro Mode and frame the shot by means of the LCD. Enabling the 10 second self-timer allows me enough time to aim the light source and experiment with different angles until I see the desired effect I want in the LCD. If I'm using my Canon SX50 then I'll temporarily DEACTIVATE the Image-Stabilization, which is recommended in the manual when using a tripod. I just have to remember to activate it before I go back to my preferred bird photography!
The critical factor is simply finding the best angle from which to light the subject. For a polished seashell it can take a few attempts to minimize or prevent "hot spot" reflections on the shell from the light source. In my case, I don't want to work any harder than I have to in an effort to completely eliminate hot spots so I don't use shades or attempt to diffuse or bounce the light and I don't mind a little shine on the shell. I simply position the light source at the angle that produces the most dramatic effect. I find the most pleasing and dramatic results come from "side-lighting" the seashell. I rarely hold the light source directly above the seashell, for example. Also, finding the best angle helps prevent the black foam core from being easily detected. Even if the foam core appears in the initial capture, that can easily be corrected in post by decreasing the "Levels." This style of "side-lighting" of the subject is how I use natural sunlight to begin the process of creating many of my bird photographs that feature a black background. Working with early morning or late afternoon sunlight, in this case. You can view examples of this technique in the Wildlife Section here under my thread titled "Strictly For The Birds."
I use Photoshop Elements 12. During post-processing the tool I use the most is "Levels." I decrease the levels until the black foam core goes completely black. Occasionally, I'll need to select Auto Levels or adjust Shadows / Highlights to allow the image to really "pop." I don't do these black foam core projects too often so if the seashells have been on display and the foam core stored away, I make extra sure they're completely dust-free. Since these are lighted macro shots every flaw or speck of dust will be captured!
Best regards,
Tony
https://tonybritton.smugmug.com/
Tony
https://tonybritton.smugmug.com/
gspep.smugmug.com & steendorp.smugmug.com
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Thanks for looking and especially for commenting!
Tony
https://tonybritton.smugmug.com/
TravelwaysPhotos.com ...... Facebook
VegasGreatAttractions.com
Travelways.com
A few more.
I hope you'll enjoy these!
^ only four of those images are showing for me. The second, fourth and sixth are not resolving.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
This has happened before. I do see all of them on my screen. I edited the post and hope at least four images appear this time!
Thanks for alerting me to the problem!
Tony
This is an outstanding body of work. Any number of these, blown up big, could make for an impressive gallery showing. Thanks for commenting on the techniques you employed in their production.
Tom
Love these!