No Bird... Just a flower.

Kirwin

Used a 7watt Halogen for lighting...

ginger_55

That is really beautiful. I don't know the technique, but it is nice. I took some flowers last night, almost every day actually.

Nice shot.

ginger

Harryb

Kirwin wrote:

Used a 7watt Halogen for lighting...

thegreenegg

I like the concept a lot. But I really think that I woulod enjoy the picture more if the flower in the foreground was better lit. Keep on shooting!
Ashley

Dixie

thegreenegg wrote:

I like the concept a lot. But I really think that I woulod enjoy the picture more if the flower in the foreground was better lit. Keep on shooting!
Ashley

I agree, Ashley. A little reflected fill on the backside of the flower would have brought it out a little better (3 or 4 to 1 fill ratio maybe to maintain the effect).

Kirwin

Hi Ginger,

It's really no special technique. Just my camera on a tripod... shooting in complete darkness with a hand held 7watt halogen light. I'm glad you enjoyed!

Kirwin

Harry... thanks for the accolades! Glad you enjoyed.

Harryb wrote:

Kirwin

Hi Ashley & Dixie,

It's not really much of a concept... just me sittin' in the dark with my cam mounted on a tripod and moving a little 7watt halogen light to different areas of the subject. I'm having fun experimenting with light and observing how it interacts with the subject.

Dixie... I'm sorry but I do not understand the concept in which you recommend. I'm sure it requires the use of an actual strobe or flash unit which I currently do not possess. Just trying to discover hidden beauty with the tools at hand. Appreciate the input as I continue to experiment and learn. Thanks for lookin'!

Regards,
Kirwin

Dixie

Kirwin wrote:

Dixie... I'm sorry but I do not understand the concept in which you recommend. I'm sure it requires the use of an actual strobe or flash unit which I currently do not possess. Just trying to discover hidden beauty with the tools at hand. Appreciate the input as I continue to experiment and learn. Thanks for lookin'!

Regards,
Kirwin

Just recommending that you duplicate the shot, but use some type of reflector on the opposite side of the yellow flower to reflect just a little of the light into the right side of the flower to bring out a little of the detail on that side to separate it from the background flowers (see diagram below). To keep the dark side of the flower in shadows, you only need a hint of fill light which you control by how far the reflector is from the flower. The reflector can just be a simple piece of white paper, notecard, etc.

Kirwin

Hi Dixie,

Thanks for the detailed explanation... will give it a try next time!!

Dixie wrote:

Just recommending that you duplicate the shot, but use some type of reflector on the opposite side of the yellow flower to reflect just a little of the light into the right side of the flower to bring out a little of the detail on that side to separate it from the background flowers (see diagram below). To keep the dark side of the flower in shadows, you only need a hint of fill light which you control by how far the reflector is from the flower. The reflector can just be a simple piece of white paper, notecard, etc.

Dixie

You're welcome. Have fun playing with the light. That's what it is all about.

thegreenegg

Thanks Dixie,
That helps me out a lot too. I'm new and need detailed explanations, because I raised my eyebrow at it at first. Just goes to show, you need to ask. Thanks, I can use that with things I do as well.
Ashley

Dixie

thegreenegg wrote:

Thanks Dixie,
That helps me out a lot too. I'm new and need detailed explanations, because I raised my eyebrow at it at first. Just goes to show, you need to ask. Thanks, I can use that with things I do as well.
Ashley

Happy to help out, Ashley. I do product photography for a company that has products ranging in size from 4-6 feet in size down to about an inch in size. Some of them are pretty difficult to illuminate correctly so I have little stands with clamps on them to hold notecards to reflect the light to the tough to reach areas for detail.

Below is a shot for his catalog where the main light source was the sun and I used two reflector cards to soften the harsh shadows. He's not critical about the shine so I didn't really do anything to knock it down. If he was, I would have used some hairspray to kill the shine.

I also shot an entire fireplace implement catalog a few years back with lots of shiny brass and went through about six cans of hair spray killing the hot spots. ...but it works.