almost everyday, i see shots of flowers w/ black backgrounds; is this accomplished @ night or is a flash (either on camera or off camera) used during the day to make such a shot? thanks for answering.
There are several ways, including placing a portable black board or cloth behind the subject.
I look for sunlit flowers or plants with dark shade behind. You need to understand how to set your exposure to keep your background dark and the subject from being over-exposed. I shoot in raw and do additional editing if needed for this look.
I also really like backlighting. The background of the below was a cliff face in deep shadow and I was shooting towards the sun.
Early morning is a good time because you can find more lighting contrasts to work with. There are woods behind this little flower garden.
You can do these pretty much in daylight using a flash. Set the shutter to the fastest sync speed (usually around 1/200), and use a small aperture (f11-16). This will usually totally underexpose the ambient lighting and only the closest areas flashed will be properly exposed.
The drawback to using an on-camera flash IMO is you are lighting the subject from the front. Often, side or back light brings out textures and emphasizes shapes that aren't possible with direct light. It really just depends on personal taste and what you're trying to achieve - dramatic contrasts of light and dark such as the two I posted, or more evenly distributed lighting. Well worth study and experimentation!
uppics wrote:
almost everyday, i see shots of flowers w/ black backgrounds; is this accomplished @ night or is a flash (either on camera or off camera) used during the day to make such a shot? thanks for answering.
Most plants are asleep at night and do get vicious when suddenly awakened.
I think black foam board is most often used to give the black background as well as separating the plant from its neighbors. It also can block the air movement around the plant.
my thanks to both of you for your responses. can't try this today, as i have to go to work in a few minutes; however, i'll work on it in the next day or two.
uppics wrote:
almost everyday, i see shots of flowers w/ black backgrounds; is this accomplished @ night or is a flash (either on camera or off camera) used during the day to make such a shot? thanks for answering.
I would try PMng oldhippy (not sure of his moniker) but he's the master of that genre on this forum. I've mimicked his technique in post processing by darkening the background with a flower that was backlight with natural light but I'm not sure if this is the method he employs.
You can do this naturally outdoors by looking for a sunlit flower with shade in the background. I do this a lot. Usually, a little darkening help from Photoshop is needed, but not too much. I really don't like using a flash for this type photography. It's too hard to control and I find the light to be too harsh. Linda has presented two excellent examples. I imagine you can get good in-studio results where you can play around with the lighting and the background, but I have never done it. The example I have for you was taken in natural light with a shaded background. I did do some minor background darkening with Photoshop to fill-in a couple spots that weren't dark enough for my tastes.
TriX
Loc: Raleigh, NC
Very nice examples Linda!
TriX
Loc: Raleigh, NC
Very nice examples Linda!
Look up "Low Key" photography for more information. However, you can create the dark to black background as described above by using a high number F-stop to under expose everything, then using a flash to bring out only the subject matter. One can get very creative with this technique and it is my favorite way to shoot flowers, etc. Good luck and good shooting to all.
TriX, thanks for your comment!
Like Saxman71, I prefer sunlight/shadow conditions over using a flash. One thing with flash is you can't use a high shutter speed (as jackm1943 referenced, re synch). That might be of interest to those, like myself, who have become a bit wobbly.
jackm1943 wrote:
You can do these pretty much in daylight using a flash. Set the shutter to the fastest sync speed (usually around 1/200), and use a small aperture (f11-16). This will usually totally underexpose the ambient lighting and only the closest areas flashed will be properly exposed.
I second the motion. If you can set your camera for high speed sync, you can go up to the highest shutter speed to really darken the background. I use a TTL flash, camera in Manual mode, ISO 400, F4.5, and experiment with the shutter speed to get the effect I want for the ambient light. The flash controls exposure on the subject. You can also adjust aperture for DoF control or increase ISO to get a little more reach from the flash. I clamp my flash to a stake and place it in the ground where I want for some nice back or sidelight effects.
Years ago, a photographer, hired by Kodak to go from national park to national park giving slide shows of his work and offering tips on nature photography, gave this tip for flowers: use your hat (eg) to produce a shadow behind the flower, which will highlight the flower. His flower photos were almost always with a shaded background and it was easy to see the visual effect. Since I am bald, I always have a hat and have used his tip many times over the years. A helper is a help sometimes, but if using a tripod, I can usually manage alone. This has the advantage of not having to anticipate a photo op where you might not have a black board along. Or if you're backpacking and left your black board at home.
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