Frank P. Luongo |
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Macro Flower Shots
I am interested in close up floral shots. I plan on purchasing either the Nikon 60mm f/2.8 macro or the 105mm version. My question is: How do I get a black background with a macro shot of a beautiful lone flower? I read that you can use a flash or underexpose your image by one stop below metered reading. Can someone enlighten me? Thanks very much.
July 21, 2004
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Bob Cammarata |
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You can either use flash (set at a distance to illuminate only the flower), or use natural light and prop up a piece of black foam-core or poster board behind the flower. I would personally opt for the latter ... and shoot outdoors on a cloudy day.
July 21, 2004
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Steve McCroskey |
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Canna Up Close and Personal
Steve McCroskey |
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Really up close and Personal
Steve McCroskey |
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Hi Frank! I usually use the flash to create a black background, as Bob previously mentioned!! I have not experimented with anything else yet.
July 21, 2004
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Ken Henry |
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I like using the flash also, but I keep it soft by using a Pocket Bouncer on the flash, and a Press T flash bracket, and a tripod. How I create a black background on a sunny day: Most of the time I can shade the flower and background with my body or a 24" reflector. This reduces the light by at least three stops or more. I manually set my camera at the sunny f16 x 1/125 sinc speed. If your camera has a higher sinc speed, better yet to create a black background, or use smaller apertures. Then the flash will TTL the correct exposure. And, of course, the further away the background and the longer your lens focal length is the more out of focus the background will be. I will also use a black cloth. Regards,
July 23, 2004
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John Gasawski |
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Frank: All of the answers are good solutions to your question. If you have PS try using hue/saturation and curve adjustment layers. Depends on what you wish the finished product to look like. Take a look at my rose pics as an example. johngasawskiphotography.com. and go to flower images. Hope this helps. John
July 27, 2004
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