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Follow up to Flower Macro
Jun 4, 2015 11:54:09 #
Tomwils
Loc: Crofton, Kentucky
I applied all the suggestions provided in response to the original post and this is what I came up with. The ISO must have been pretty high, too high, but I don't see it in the EXIF. I used a blackboard background, tripod, and remote shutter release. Now, I love the result, but going to 100% shows a lot of noise that I didn't see. I never look at a photo at more than full screen. The printed photo on 8.5 x 11 looks great, in my inexperienced opinion. Anyway, as always, critiques welcome.
Jun 4, 2015 12:07:45 #
No Iso in exif
Nik D7100
f/20
1/8000
F4
spot meter
What mode are you shooting in? Why in the world would you shoot a 'studio' still life at F/20 and 1/8000?
Of course the ISO would have to have been high!!!!!!!!
open that aperture!
Nik D7100
f/20
1/8000
F4
spot meter
What mode are you shooting in? Why in the world would you shoot a 'studio' still life at F/20 and 1/8000?
Of course the ISO would have to have been high!!!!!!!!
open that aperture!
Jun 4, 2015 12:18:32 #
Tomwils
Loc: Crofton, Kentucky
I'm shooting in manual mode. I'm sorry, but I don't understand "studio still". This is an Iris growing outside in our flower bed with a slight breeze. I used F20 for a deep DOF and really didn't pay any attention to ISO, hence the very fast shutter. Don't ask how it got so high, I don't know. Probably I had my finger on the wrong button while turning the command dial and didn't notice. I am new to this camera and make a lot of mistakes with it. By the way, thanks for looking and the critique.
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Jun 4, 2015 12:32:57 #
The whites are a bit too hot. You need to tone them down so that you can see the details in the petals
Jun 4, 2015 12:38:34 #
Tomwils wrote:
I'm shooting in manual mode. I'm sorry, but I don'... (show quote)
Studio still life...just generally a set up shot...holding a background in place qualifies. ;)
I would recommend you use Aperture mode. Depth of field is a priority in these kinds of shots. You usually want to blur your backgrounds even plain paper ones. ;) Watch your meter and set your ISO to the lowest possible and still maintain adequate shutter speed. Experiment.
Jun 4, 2015 12:43:30 #
Tomwils
Loc: Crofton, Kentucky
Thank you, Didereaux. That's why I'm here, to learn. That picture was taken on 7 May and I have learned the camera a little more now. I found out how to get ISO to show in the EXIF, so that problem is solved.
Jun 4, 2015 12:48:15 #
Tomwils
Loc: Crofton, Kentucky
I'm working on that, Scott. When I'm comfortable with the results I'll post it. Thank you for the assessment.
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Jun 4, 2015 12:56:00 #
I darken backgrounds by using a flash to illuminate my subject, a fast enough shutter speed (top sync speed), a small enough aperture & low enough ISO along with enough distance from the background to effectively kill any ambient light falling on the background. Granted, I'm shooting macro subjects, but the principle remains the same to isolate your subject. No tripod or artificial backgrounds needed.
Jun 4, 2015 13:03:01 #
Tomwils
Loc: Crofton, Kentucky
Thanks a lot, Scott. The Irises are gone but there are still plenty of wild flowers available. I'll give that technique a shot. I like taking macro shots and will do some experimenting this weekend.
Jun 4, 2015 13:05:59 #
You can see examples... I shoot smaller wild flowers as well as insects... on my Flickr stream. Click on the EXIF link to see the shooting info... The lens may not show though as I use an older manual focus macro lens & ,since it has no contacts, the lens info doesn't always show...
Tomwils wrote:
Thanks a lot, Scott. The Irises are gone but there are still plenty of wild flowers available. I'll give that technique a shot. I like taking macro shots and will do some experimenting this weekend.
Jun 4, 2015 13:15:13 #
Tomwils
Loc: Crofton, Kentucky
Very nice, Scott. I checked out birds and butterflies. I thought I had some good shots, before I saw yours.
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Jun 4, 2015 15:25:50 #
Tomwils wrote:
Very nice, Scott. I checked out birds and butterflies. I thought I had some good shots, before I saw yours.
Scott's advice is good, Tom.
I have found that you are not going to gain appreciably in depth of field at f20 over f16, and you start getting some diffraction.
The blossoms are a little too "hot," as someone else mentioned. White flowers are a challenge. Getting light from the side, at close to a right angle to the field of view, helps.
I set the ISO to 100, the shutter speed between 1/100 and 1/200, the aperture to f16, and use an off-camera speedlite flash at reduced power. Then I can concentrate on light placement, focus and composition. I have also found that I do not get significantly better low light performance with the higher ISOs (for this sort of work) that would justify the increased noise. The less you have to worry about in the filed, the better. With digital images you can check your results as you go and make adjustments.
For the shots you are trying to get you would find the True Macro forum here helpful -
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-102-1.html
You are on the right track.
Mike
Jun 4, 2015 15:34:52 #
Tomwils
Loc: Crofton, Kentucky
Thanks Mike. I'm trying to tone the flowers down a bit in Paint Shop Pro but that brings up the high ISO noise. I had this camera two and a half weeks when I took that shot and just let the ISO get away from me. Now I have to break out the book and learn how to do flash with fast sync. I really do appreciate the folks here at UHH.
Jun 4, 2015 17:42:40 #
Tomwils wrote:
I applied all the suggestions provided in response to the original post and this is what I came up with. The ISO must have been pretty high, too high, but I don't see it in the EXIF. I used a blackboard background, tripod, and remote shutter release. Now, I love the result, but going to 100% shows a lot of noise that I didn't see. I never look at a photo at more than full screen. The printed photo on 8.5 x 11 looks great, in my inexperienced opinion. Anyway, as always, critiques welcome.
I don't think that is noise in the background. I think that, because of the very high ISO you are picking up detail in the background. When I go for a blacked out look, I use a dark or black background; but I also select my subject and then paint the background black in photoshop. Sometimes you can get the same effect without painting by selecting the background and then reducing the exposure to the background. It has to be pretty dark from the start to work with this method. I would suggest an ISO setting somewhere in the 200-400 range or less since you are indoors and using a tripod. Having said all that I like your photo. The whites are a bit overpowering to me; but you are getting there.
Jun 4, 2015 18:36:43 #
Tomwils wrote:
Thanks Mike. I'm trying to tone the flowers down a bit in Paint Shop Pro but that brings up the high ISO noise.
Tough to do with a JPEG in PSP. A raw file would be easy to bring back.
Mike
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