Flower Pictures - A Mild Obsession #3

Yellow daisy, oh yellow daisy - please tell me about fills and flags! How does one use them effectively?

Good question sighs my daisy. An answer or two...

One can shoot anything straight without flash in good daylight and get okay results. I've read a load of articles in the last few months saying that bright sunshine is bad, bad, really bad, for color saturation when shooting flowers or anything for that matter - true often, but not always so.

One needs to consider all sorts of things - purpose, time of day, result required, etc! Dawn and dusk produce warm, shadowy light and if one wants to take a landscape photograph of note, this would be the ideal time to do it...using a tripod of course! Shutter speeds slow down in order to get the depth of field required, f16 or even f22, so one is often shooting at ¼ or ½ a second. I've met a few people who can handhold shutter speeds that slow but most of us...never in a million years! In the landscape world tripods rule okay!

I know, I know, ironic considering that I spent a bit of Mild Obsession #2 justifying my desire to shoot unfettered by a three legged monster. I did say in my defence, though, be consistent. Part of that consistency is recognition of the tools needed in each particular situation. Life is a balancing act, no more so than in the world of photography.

Another natural lighting situation to consider is sunlight mid-morning to mid-afternoon (harsh front light, but often awesome backlight), tricky at the best of times but even this light can be used well and effectively if one knows how to control it.

A really good way to learn lighting in controlled circumstances is to use angle poise lamps and a small subject on a plain background. For my subject I chose a yellow daisy...not the same one plucked from a faraway field, no, a yellow painted tin daisy, beautiful nonetheless, which I stood up on a piece of white A3 card!

What about color balance you cry? At the risk of being boringly repetitive...digital technology...white balance (WB)... All hail the little tiny green men inside one's camera, running around changing the color gels so that we can shoot color corrected images no matter what the light source. Incredible stuff!

Try this...

Grab a plain backdrop, a cotton sheet, piece of white card or anything that detracts as little from the subject as possible. Take your subject, place it on your backdrop not too close to the background, set up an angle poise lamp to the left side of the subject and point the light directly at the subject (preferably slightly above). You should be producing huge, harsh shadows. Interrogation time!

Now grab a piece of white card and line it up side on to your subject on the other side from the lamp and move it around until the shadows on the subject are softened to some degree .i.e. fill...The more one can soften the light on subject the better, so next step is to soften the source.

Turn the angle poise around pointing away from the subject angled 45 degrees up, then place a piece of white card in front of it reflecting the light back toward the subject - hey presto softer light -much softer. Soften things even more by playing with more fills on the other side of the subject too. A good soft result, not so dramatic perhaps, but eminently flattering.

I hasten to add at this point that I have done fashion shoots in the past using just harsh direct light, emulating movie-lighting of the 30's, and achieved gorgeous results. It all comes down to control i.e. positive decision making rather than negative.

Play with this studio lighting setup in miniature until you get a feel for it. There are so many possibilities...

Try this too...

Shine two lamps at the center of your background, one each side, angled at 45 degrees to the plane of the background. Make sure that your subject is flagged to stop any light falling directly onto it. How? Place black card (flags) on each side of the subject (slightly back of the subject) showing the background clearly but not allowing light from the lamps to spill onto the sides of the subject. Now place two pieces of white card in front of the subject facing the background. Leave a small gap to shoot through.

Result?

A subject only lit by backlight and reflected light from the card in front. It's a really good way to produce a backlit daylight feel. I use it all the time with studio shots of people. It can be fantastically flattering, if done well.

Play! Play lots. Light control is very satisfying when you get the hang of it.

To learn how to translate this lighting control to daylight conditions and to find out more about flags, scrims and other goodies, keep a lookout for Flower Pictures - A Mild Obsession #4.

Remember always - good lighting is good lighting period. Sounds obvious, I know, but real easy to forget.

See the beauty!


Copyright 2005 Patrick Heathcock

Flower Photography - A Mild Obsession #1

What does one need to do to get the perfect close-up of a wild flower? Set up a tripod, clip on camera, then snap, snap it's in the bag, camera, chip.. whatever? Maybe... but consider a few unexpected impediments first. Finding the perfect clump of subjects (mostly the easy part), stopping(screeching to a halt) suddenly (sometimes interesting along a busy highway)...parking and gathering up the necessary gear (easy) - then my least favourite part, lugging everything over hill and dale. Tripod, camera bag with several lenses which never seem to get any lighter and then fun, fun, fun...It seems, seemed a short distance across three fences to where the wild, gorgeous yellow number (nothing exotic - a simple daisy but a beauty!), nods in the gentle breeze..but...

Have you ever tried to climb over a fence with tripod in hand and weighty camera bag over shoulder? "Just pass them through the fence and follow", you say! In theory perfect but as is often the case when I'm out ready to shoot I have tripod ready, camera clipped in, slung over right shoulder legs extended, spread ready to go (the fact that I look like a giraffe with ungainly neck protrusions goes unnoticed) and my camera bag is old, slightly smelly and large!. So, how do I climb through the first fence, let alone the second or third in pursuit of the perfect daisy without a lot of folding of legs pushing and shoving, and unclipping of my precious digital genius first? Simple answer - I don't, I try to get through regardless. Result? The air rapidly turns blue around my head and expletives neither original nor inventive start erupting unbidden from my person. And then the final indignity as at least one part of my favourite jumper gets snagged by an ever vigilant barb! My alternative solutions: throw the gear over and hope for the best, find a gate (how many miles to the nearest?), or simply leave it all in the SUV...barring the digital genius and one's favourite 1:1 lens of course!

My final decision? Leave tripod and bag in the SUV, take the necessary, and hope that the ravages of the previous night haven't wrought havoc with traditionally rock steady hands. So then leaping like a gazelle over fences one, two and three, I stride toward the perfect clump of yellow. It's late in the season, so all the white daisies are pretty much done - rich, golden yellow it is.

Selecting the perfect specimen is next. I needs to decide what I'm trying to say in the pic. Perfection with clarity - nature's form, sublime in its attention to detail or organic soft colour merging into more colour with shadowy bits - a bit of both perhaps. The magic of digital, the freedom of digital - the ability to try everything because one can! I love it. It's a revelation, a deepening of the creative urge to explore new realms without cost... or end sometimes.

Sure, one can always argue that it leads to lack of direction, lack of planning but one can also argue in return that it extends one's vision, increases one's output and ability to see the world from different perspectives. I relish the challenge!

Back to the world of yellow! Perfection... mmmm. Unable to settle on which of the perfect choices is THE perfect choice I decide to shoot anyway, putting pen to paper or rather index finger to shutter button in order to get the creative juices flowing. As always seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens up to the possibilities: depth of field, front edge of a petal in focus back edge out and vice versa but mostly my mind is consumed by warm yellow. Kneeling on the ground head down intensely focused - the butt in the air angle would not be an attractive sight for any passing observer but I don't need to worry about such considerations as this mild obsession most often leads to splendid isolation.

A bit of advice - bracket everything (1 either side in ½ stops or thirds if you have the choice), shoot at the highest resolution you can achieve with whichever model of digital genius you possess and take at least half a dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best chance of capturing the one you really wanted - the perfect image, beautiful enough to grace your wall, a wall anywhere. One feels such an idiot when one has to declare it didn't quite happen because of trigger finger meanness! Digital genius is defined by trigger finger generosity or put another way - repetition is the basis of professionalism. Whatever it takes I say. Get the shot! The satisfaction is immense.

More advice - check the first few images carefully on the preview screen just to make sure everything is working as it should. Don't end up taking twenty splendid black and white shots of a gorgeous yellow daisy - do the greyscale thing in Photoshop! Slow down, check the first few brackets. Check that the ISO is set to 100 not to 1600 from last night's fun and that all the exposure compensation overrides are back to normal (or leave the settings at 1600 over by two if weird and whacky is what you're after). Little things but in my twenty years as a photographer these little things become mortifyingly large things if ignored!

So perfection captured, 0 and 1's secured in the land of Flash wizardry it's back across the three fences leaping not quite so enthusiastically now, the gazelle's knees are a little creaky from kneeling on the damp ground - back to the ever patient, ever reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition, we're off ...A glow of anticipation washes over me!

But never forget the first things to do on your return? Download and backup! Forget at your peril. DOWNLOAD AND BACKUP just in case you didn't get it the first time.

Copyright 2005 Patrick Heathcock

Flower Pictures - A Mild Obsession #2

So a gorgeous yellow daisy mesmerises me, swaying elegantly in the light afternoon breeze, bathed in the warm light. Mmmm...emotions gently bubble to the surface, excitement foremost, followed by the deep satisfaction that I've been able to make time to return to this spot to revisit my yellow daisy. I've already shot her once...but...now another chance to create another feel, another image worthy of my wall.

As before I dispense with my tripod. An odd decision? Perhaps... but here's my thinking on the subject. Firstly this is a decision which individual photographers need to make for themselves and secondly, and please understand this clearly, there are no rights or wrongs when the intent is artistic creation.

A tripod slows the process down (a good thing), it allows for greater reflection on composition and it creates the freedom necessary to style the shot without losing the angle of view one has chosen. It also has the added benefit of helping to steady the camera considerably so that camera shake is avoided. Actually in practise that bonus can rapidly become nullified - add a little spring zephyr to the mix and suddenly movement becomes an artistic must have, with or without the tripod!

Easing swiftly on to my preference...

Shooting fashion was my world for a number of years and even though I used a tripod a lot in the studio, more often than not on location I preferred to hand hold my monster of a medium format camera (GX680). Luckily it has an autowind so cranking to the next frame wasn't a bore, but the freedom to be able to approach all shots by circling the subject to see how the world looked from that perspective was hugely stimulating. Good stuff! And oddly now that I'm shooting my mostly inanimate gorgeous yellow daisy and the like, I feel incredibly fettered when using a tripod. Don't ever let anyone dictate that there is only one proper way (ironically almost always their way - strange...). Discipline is in your approach and consistency of approach rather than just the tools.

There is another factor in the mix - DIGITAL...A little rant last time, a repeat now...Freedom! To me digital spells freedom - access, creativity, lack of stress about mundane matters like money i.e. cost per frame "wasted". If you like to shoot a lot of each view as I do, this would get prohibitive real quick on film. I urge you as a budding or even a relatively experienced photographer to shoot lots - life is too short to stuff a mushroom (if you get that you get my point), and shoot at the highest res possible. I cringe at sad sack stories of the one that got away.

Be disciplined, shoot smart. Make yourself a checklist, mental or written, of things to check and use it every time you go out to shoot. It's the little things...you try explaining to a client that you forgot the charged batteries at the studio or even worse, a whispered aside to assistant "Herm where's the film?" And then even worse the reply "I thought you packed it...." Checklists rule okay!

So to the gorgeous yellow number...Another decision, another choice. Shoot the natural view or create an instant outdoor studio background with flags, fills and scrim. Me, I like the control of creating my own environment as far as possible. I like the deep orange fuzzy card in the background with my model languishing, exotically garbed in yellow organza, in the foreground. Daisy perfection!

Now for some forward planning...don't ever restrict your ability to shoot by not planning ahead. Take a few extras with you...

I grabbed a series of different colored cards before I left, A4 sheets as the work is close and my subjects mostly small, and I cut a slit down the vertical centre line to 1/3 into the page, then carved out a small round hole (a keyhole in effect),a perfect fit around the stem of most flowers, without doing any real damage. Don't worry about the slit, Photoshop will clean that up! For the purists out there sorry if that's cheating in your book, but hey if you've got it, use it, is my feeling.

I also stuck a bit of foil, white card and black card in for good measure. A tiny mobile studio - flag and fill! Do it properly if you're going to do it at all. The foil can be well used to create pattern or glitter on an otherwise dull surface, the white card to fill in the shadow areas and the black card to define edges on white/light subjects. On really bright, sunny days it's worth adding a sheet of scrim to the mix to soften the light over the subject. Diffuse light created by a cloudy day or by a decent piece of scrim is so much easier to work with - color saturation is deep and satisfying without huge loss in shadows or highlights. Be prepared!

BUT...

Do not rule out the harsh directness of full-on sun. It can be awesome to work in direct sun - huge drama, brilliant glitter. Give yourself a break - luxuriate in choice. Never loose site of the point...GET THE SHOT...the shot that's beautiful enough to grace the wall...any wall!

See the beauty!


Copyright 2005 Patrick Heathcock

Flower Pictures - A Mild Obsession #1

What does one need to do to get the perfect close-up of a wild flower? Set up a tripod, clip on camera, then snap, snap it's in the bag, camera, chip.. whatever? Maybe... but consider a few unexpected impediments first. Finding the perfect clump of subjects (mostly the easy part), stopping suddenly or rather screeching to a halt (sometimes interesting along a busy highway)...parking and gathering up the necessary gear (easy) - then my least favourite part, lugging everything over hill and dale. Tripod, camera bag with several lenses which never seem to get any lighter and then fun, fun, fun...It seems, seemed a short distance across three fences to where the wild, gorgeous yellow number (nothing exotic - a simple daisy but a beauty!), nods in the gentle breeze..but...

Have you ever tried to climb over a fence with tripod in hand and weighty camera bag over shoulder? "Just pass them through the fence and follow", you say! In theory perfect but as is often the case when I'm out ready to shoot I have tripod ready, camera clipped in, slung over right shoulder legs extended, spread ready to go (the fact that I look like a giraffe with ungainly neck protrusions goes unnoticed) and my camera bag is old, slightly smelly and large!. So, how do I climb through the first fence, let alone the second or third in pursuit of the perfect daisy without a lot of folding of legs pushing and shoving, and unclipping of my precious digital genius first? Simple answer - I don't, I try to get through regardless. Result? The air rapidly turns blue around my head and expletives neither original nor inventive start erupting unbidden from my person. And then the final indignity as at least one part of my favourite jumper gets snagged by an ever vigilant barb! My alternative solutions: throw the gear over and hope for the best, find a gate (how many miles to the nearest?), or simply leave it all in the SUV...barring the digital genius and one's favourite 1:1 lens of course!

My final decision? Leave tripod and bag in the SUV, take the necessary, and hope that the ravages of the previous night haven't wrought havoc with traditionally rock steady hands. So then leaping like a gazelle over fences one, two and three, I stride toward the perfect clump of yellow. It's late in the season, so all the white daisies are pretty much done - rich, golden yellow it is.

Selecting the perfect specimen is next. I need to decide what I'm trying to say in the pic. Perfection with clarity - nature's form, sublime in its attention to detail or organic soft colour merging into more colour with shadowy bits - a bit of both perhaps. The magic of digital, the freedom of digital - the ability to try everything because one can! I love it. It's a revelation, a deepening of the creative urge to explore new realms without cost... or end sometimes.

Sure, one can always argue that it leads to lack of direction, lack of planning but one can also argue in return that it extends one's vision, increases one's output and ability to see the world from different perspectives. I relish the challenge!

Back to the world of yellow! Perfection... mmmm. Unable to settle on which of the perfect choices is THE perfect choice I decide to shoot anyway, putting pen to paper or rather index finger to shutter button in order to get the creative juices flowing. As always seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens up to the possibilities: depth of field, front edge of a petal in focus back edge out and vice versa but mostly my mind is consumed by warm yellow. Kneeling on the ground head down intensely focused - the butt in the air angle would not be an attractive sight for any passing observer but I don't need to worry about such considerations as this mild obsession most often leads to splendid isolation.

A bit of advice - bracket everything (1 either side in ½ stops or thirds if you have the choice), shoot at the highest resolution you can achieve with whichever model of digital genius you possess and take at least half a dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best chance of capturing the one you really wanted - the perfect image, beautiful enough to grace your wall, a wall anywhere. One feels such an idiot when one has to declare it didn't quite happen because of trigger finger meanness! Digital genius is defined by trigger finger generosity or put another way - repetition is the basis of professionalism. Whatever it takes I say. Get the shot! The satisfaction is immense.

More advice - check the first few images carefully on the preview screen just to make sure everything is working as it should. Don't end up taking twenty splendid black and white shots of a gorgeous yellow daisy - do the greyscale thing in Photoshop! Slow down, check the first few brackets. Check that the ISO is set to 100 not to 1600 from last night's fun and that all the exposure compensation overrides are back to normal (or leave the settings at 1600 over by two if weird and whacky is what you're after). Little things but in my twenty years as a photographer these little things become mortifyingly large things if ignored!

So perfection captured, 0 and 1's secured in the land of Flash wizardry it's back across the three fences leaping not quite so enthusiastically now, the gazelle's knees are a little creaky from kneeling on the damp ground - back to the ever patient, ever reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition, we're off ...A glow of anticipation washes over me!

But never forget the first things to do on your return? Download and backup! Forget at your peril. DOWNLOAD AND BACKUP just in case you didn't get it the first time.

Copyright 2005 Patrick Heathcock