Flowers, Pretty Flowers · Tonight’s Objectives Share some ideas Show some techniques Inspire and...
Transcript of Flowers, Pretty Flowers · Tonight’s Objectives Share some ideas Show some techniques Inspire and...
Tonight’s Objectives
Share some ideas
Show some techniques
Inspire and encourage
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Why Photographing Flowers is Important
(particularly at home)
Create beautiful Images
Learn how your camera works
Learn how Photoshop works
Limited equipment requirements
Convenient & low-cost
Quiet & peaceful
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing Flowers
(particularly at home)
Controlled lighting
Controlled environment – no wind
Easy to experiment
Fast turnaround
Easy to find flowers at Stop & Shop
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing Flowers
Level Playing Field for Competitions
Everyone is equal
Cultivated flowers are Not “Nature” – So anything goes!
No travel requirements
No exotic animals
No foreign locations
No need for a f4 600mm lens
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing Flowers
Photographing flowers at home prepares you
for photographing flowers in the field
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Photographing Flowers
"Remember: If you can’t make good
photographs close to home, then you won’t
make good ones at a more exotic location
either."
Joe LeFevre
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Tonight’s Program
Equipment
Places to Photograph
Photographing Flowers – Making the Image!
Developing the Negative
Flowers, Pretty Flowers –
with help from a few of our friends
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Richard Ferland
Armand & Joan Francoeur
Gary & Judy Hoyt
Dick Morton
Sarah Musumeci
Bob Ring
Sandy Thomas
Flowers, Pretty Flowers –with help from a few of our friends
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
“Every day strive to be a better photographer
a better visual storyteller, and everything
you learn, share it openly with others.”
“Don’t prove yourself; improve yourself….
and then share it.”
Dewitt Jones
Outdoor Photographer MagazineApril, 2011 Issue
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Nikon D7000 & Nikon 18-200 ¼ sec. @ f11 Nikon Coolpix S57o – 1/50 sec @ f5.4
Required Equipment
Almost any Camera will do
Macro Lens 2.8 105 or 150 Macro is most
common (and probably the best!)
Any good kit lens
Camera’s Live View
Mirror Lock Up or Exposure Delay Mode (Nikon)
Cable Release (or use timer)
Tripod
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Required Equipment – If outside
Knee pads
Plastic sheet for lying in the mud
Reflector to provide shade & protect against wind
Shower Cap for camera in case of rain
Water spritzer in case of no rain
Ties or clothespins to hold back unwanted foliage
Small clippers or scissors for selective pruning
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Optional Equipment
Extension Tubes
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Kenko Auto Extension Tube Set DG (12, 20 & 36mm Tubes) - $168
Optional Equipment
Flash or Fixed Lights
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Utility Light and 5000k Bulb from Lowe’s - $15
Optional Equipment
Close Focus Filters
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Tiffen 52mm Close-up Lens Set (+1, +2, +4) $32
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Optional Equipment - Light Box
Bob Ring – Small SetupFlotone Gradated Background 31” X43”
$35 @ B&H or Calumet
Ron Wybranowski – 30” Light Box –$45 at Amazon
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Optional Equipment - Light Box
Ron’s Minimalist Set-up - $12 at Jo-Ann FrabricsBlack Velvet Draped over TV – Natural Light
Places to Photograph – Local
Home garden
Stevens-Coolidge Place – N. Andover, MA
The Bridge of Flowers – Shelburne Falls, MA
Sugar Hill – Sugar Hill, NH
Prescott Park – Portsmouth, NH
The Andover Flower Farm – N. Andover, MA (Ask Permission First)
Garden in the Woods – Framingham, MA
Tower Hill Botanical Garden – Boylston, MA
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Places to Photograph – Local
The Rhode Island Spring Flower and Garden Show http://www.flowershow.com/
Rhode Island Nature Trails http://www.visitrhodeisland.com/what-to-do/nature-trails/garden-nature-trail/
Rotch-Jones-Duff (RJD) House and Garden Museum – New Bedford http://www.rjdmuseum.org/
Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum http://www.blithewold.org/
I Love Gardens http://www.ilovegardens.com/Rhode%20Island%20Gardens.htm
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Places to Photograph
If you can travel!
Great Smoky National Park – April through SeptemberWildflower Pilgrimage – April 25-29, 2012 http://www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org/
Colorado - JulyOuray - Yankee Boy & American Basins
Crested Butte – July 9-15, 2012 http://www.crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.com/
Rocky Mountain National Park
Top Wildflower Destinations http://www.rvparks.com/rv-trip-ideas/51-trips/71-top-widlflower-destinations
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Resources
Tony Sweet http://www.tonysweet.com/index.html
Fine Art Flower Photography
Andre Gallant http://www.andregallant.com/index.html
Freeman Patterson http://www.freemanpatterson.com/index.htm
Photo Impressionism And the Subjective Image
John Shaw http://www.johnshawphoto.com/Index.html
Focus on Nature
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Resources – Great Images
Martin Gommel http://www.digital-photography-school.com/41-delicious-flower-photographs
50 Beautiful examples of flower photography http://www.noupe.com/photography/50-beautiful-examples-of-flower-photography.html
Virginia Saunders http://www.florigraphy.com/prints/v/botanicals/?g2_enterAlbum=1
Designzzz http://www.designzzz.com/most-beautiful-flowers-photography/
Photo.Net Editors’ Picks Flower Photography http://photo.net/editors-picks/2010/flower-photography/
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing Flowers Composition Rules
Rule of Thirds
Balancing elements – Odd numbers are best
Color
Background
Depth of field
Leading lines
Symmetry & patterns
Viewpoint
Framing
Cropping
Experimentation – a newer idea because of digital
And remember, rules are meant to be broken
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing Flowers
Bob Ring
Simplicity
Juxtaposition
Depth of field
Shadows show form
Repeating pattern
Dramatic colors
Soft background
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing Flowers – Bob Ring
Rule of thirds
Separation
Simplicity
Creative crop
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing Flowers – Sarah Musumeci
Creative making of an image
Very different view
Perfect exposure
Symmetrical
Horizontal pattern
Great lighting
This is Fine Art!
There are actually only
three lilies photographed
4-5 times from different
angles and then combined
In Photoshop….
Remember Anything goes!
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
“If the goal of photography was
to make objectively accurate
reproductions of the real thing,
I wouldn’t bother”
G. Dan Mitchell
http://www.gdanmitchell.com/
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing FlowersOdd numbers really are best
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There’s one thing in the middle to give it balance.
Two are like opposing forces in a tug of war!
Photographing Flowers
Indoors
White background for hi-key
Black background to make colors pop
Gray background to help with selection
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing Flowers
Use f4.0 – f22 to put key elements in focus
usually f8 -> f16
Focus on leading edge
Put key elements on same plane
Work the scene…. really work it!
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Photographing FlowersOutdoors
The sun is not always your friend!
Mottled look is not good – Use reflectors to shade/filter
Use reflectors to block the wind
Tie back intrusions
Clean up background outdoors
Use tree leaves to fill in the background
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Developing the Negative
“The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways. “
Ansel Adams
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Developing the Negative
“Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.”
Ansel Adams
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Developing the Negative
Lens Corrections Profile if using Lightroom
Camera Profile if using Lightroom
Crop
Exposure/recovery/fill light/blacks
Brightness/contrast
Clarity/vibrance/saturation
Tone Curve
Sharpen
Noise Reduction
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Developing the Negative
Adding a soft out-of-focus background
Make selection
Create a background layer
Apply Gaussian blur
Erase selection from blurred layer
Fine tune edges
Also - See Matt Kloskowski tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmN5cHBfOLw&feature=related
Flowers, Pretty Flowers
Developing the Image
Richard Ferland’s Graduated Background Template
Open template and save with new name
Open image and make selection
Copy and paste selection to renamed template
Copy and paste additional background if wanted
Select gradient to use
Apply color to gradient to make image elements
Flowers, Pretty Flowers