Amaryllis 2015

[Marie Hass]

For Terry, Rob, Izzie and everyone else who have encourged me to set up shop and use flash.

So, for this one, I shoot tethered, camera on a tripod and speedlite with dome diffuser and Flashbender. I also have a mixed mess of window light (which is quickly fading) and overhead light. I played with the settings so that I produced the least shadow.

These are both SOOC. These were both shot at f11, .5sec, ISO 200. I turned the flowers a bit. That was a matter of preference. I do not have black paper or anything I can use for a darker backdrop.

So...what do you think?





'Rie

[FrankMi]

Marie, I'm curious about the images in post #41. What color is the backdrop?

The reason I ask is that the image color balance looks off. If the background is white, or some part of the blossom is white, I'd try using the Color Sampler Tool to reset the white balance and see if it looks better.

[Marie Hass]

Frank,

this is so weird. My laptop and my desktop are very different.

On my desktop, the backdrop is beige (which is the wall color) and the flowers are very faint pinkish white with red edging and red and pink picotee. But opened up, on my laptop, they look overexposed and the wall color is pinkish????

Crazy. I will have to go back and re-look.

'Rie

[ashcroft]

For Terry, Rob, Izzie and everyone else who have encourged me to set up shop and use flash.

So, for this one, I shoot tethered, camera on a tripod and speedlite with dome diffuser and Flashbender. I also have a mixed mess of window light (which is quickly fading) and overhead light. I played with the settings so that I produced the least shadow.

These are both SOOC. These were both shot at f11, .5sec, ISO 200. I turned the flowers a bit. That was a matter of preference. I do not have black paper or anything I can use for a darker backdrop.

So...what do you think?

I've been out of the country for the past week so haven't been looking at this. Have you bought some lighting gear? These look much better. You should be able to get black art paper for a backdrop from a local art shop - if you have one near.

[Marie Hass]

Hi, Rob!!!

No art shops near. i will have to order something on-line.

I set up my tripod and used my canon speedlite. i had window light on the right and the overhead tungsten was on, so it was a bit of a mixed mess.

I unearthed 2 stands, and an old 100watt continuous light. Other than that, the best I have are painter's lights (tungsten lights are currently in) with reflectors.

What do you think?

'Rie

[IzzieK]

'Rie and Frank --- the background looks beige to me. I love it actually though I still think a black background (blackground???) will make the flowers stand up more...for lack of immediate background, what about bed sheets or curtains (my husband used to wonder how many times I have to move that black-out curtain from our bedroom...so he bought me one at a dollar store... )

[ashcroft]

Hi, Rob!!!

No art shops near. i will have to order something on-line.

I set up my tripod and used my canon speedlite. i had window light on the right and the overhead tungsten was on, so it was a bit of a mixed mess.

I unearthed 2 stands, and an old 100watt continuous light. Other than that, the best I have are painter's lights (tungsten lights are currently in) with reflectors.

What do you think?

'Rie

You might have problems with mixed white balance between flash and the continuous lights. If you were shooting an outdoors portrait with a warm background ambient light and used flash on the portrait subject (near the camera) you could add a gel to the flash to warm it and it wouldn't affect the background due to the distance. Or, you could set the camera to shoot warm to make the background even warmer, and then cool the flash with a cool gel so the portrait subject isn't too warm on skin tones etc. But with close-up you can't do that because everything is within range of the flash light.

If you want a second flash then why not do what I do and get a very cheap manual mode only flash unit? I have the Yongnuo 460. It's excellent build-quality and is very robust. You can get one for about $50 - see link below. It doesn't do TTL only manual, but for close-up stuff that's all you need as you want control of the lighting. It also works with any camera make. I can switch mine on and use the pop-up flash on my Panasonic G6 to trigger it in slave mode, or I can use my Canon.

http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-Flash-...gnuo+flash+460

For a little more cash you can get a 560 model, which does a lot more, inc TTL http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-Profes...=yongnuo+flash

[marlunn]

'Rie, I guess I will go against the grain here, I prefer the first shot - the light through the petals making them translucent gives more depth to them and the background makes them stand out more for me - I love the 'spidery' almost alien feel to them, not to say the shot with the black background is not good but its a - forgive me - 'Chocolate box' image, a Study, where as for me the first is more a creative image.

[IzzieK]

Rob, I am a fan of Yongnuo, they are robust. My first one is still working and that was before the English manual. I think they have a better market now and are able to translate in English. Thanks for the second link -- I really like the look of that one. I will read up on it first before I shell out. Two will be better...

[ashcroft]

Rob, I am a fan of Yongnuo, they are robust. My first one is still working and that was before the English manual. I think they have a better market now and are able to translate in English. Thanks for the second link -- I really like the look of that one. I will read up on it first before I shell out. Two will be better...

We live in an increasingly doubting society, don't we. We think that because something is cheaper than a big brand name then it automatically can't be any good. As a general rule, the more you pay up to a certain point the better quality and functionality you get. But beyond that point you are sometimes just 'paying for the name'. It does depend on your circumstances and usage of the equipment. A cheaper than top-brand set of lights or flash guns, providing the basic quality is good and your usage is not heavy over a long period of time, will usually be a better buy. I use medium-priced studio lights and flashes and I have never had a single problem with them in terms of quality. Now lenses are a different matter altogether...

[Loose Canon]

Alllllllllllllrighty then Marie!

These look pretty good to me. I like your second shot myself if I were picking only one.

So I would ask a couple of questions.

Is there a particular reason you presented them un-processed then?

Is there a possibility of getting them a bit further away from the background? You are picking up some faint shadow on the BG. Not necessarily a bad thing if that’s on purpose.

Now that you are using lights I know you are seeing things differently.

What is your take on these?

And most importantly, are you getting your stinking Honey-Do’s done so you won’t be banished from the Kingdom to the stupid garage?

[Marie Hass]

Dear Terry,

First the all important honey-do's - yes. I made breakfast and cleaned up. I washed and dried a load of his laundry. I unloaded the dishwasher - and loaded it again. I washed some dishes. I cooked dinner - and cleaned up. So yes, I took care of his majesty - first. LOLS!!!!

I presented my pictures unprocessed so I did not muddy the waters. People could comment on the technical issues such as use of lighting (which was the 430 Canon speedlite, overhead tungsten light and window light.), white balance (it was on AUTO), focus, distance from BG (which you did), etc.

The shadow was not on purpose. In fact, I was trying to avoid shadow. I was approximately 4 feet from the wall. I will bring it out another foot and try.

When lighting, I should try for all lights that will produce the same white balance?

'Rie

[Marie Hass]

Dear Rob,

You might have problems with mixed white balance between flash and the continuous lights.

No continuous light in these images. Just the flash, overhead tungsten and window light. But you are right. I think the combination of different types of white balances is a problem.

I doubt nothing anymore. I only see if it can be proven, works. and can be a part of my reality. Some things are indeed hoaxes and will not repeatedly withstand rigorous scrutiny.

I do have another cheap flash I would be able to use. I will dig that out as well. I also have a 24" umbrella. Could I use painter's lights as my continuous lights? I could put in halogen, flourescent, or tungsten? Daylight? Cool white? lights.

Thank you for the links. Next paycheck I may be able to afford the Yongnuo flash....

'Rie

[Marie Hass]

Good morning, dear Izzie!!!!

I have to go to Walmart today, so I will check into what I can use for a backdrop. Thank you for that suggestion.

The wall is beige, and I do not think it is the most "harmonious" BG color for these color flowers.

Blackground, or a "darkground: as cliche as it may seem, seems uniformly hands down the best option for a "study".

'Rie

[Loose Canon]

When lighting, I should try for all lights that will produce the same white balance?

Yes.

Without getting overly complicated and insanely scientifically detailed, which you can find on this Forum…

If you have tungsten lights on, and daylight through a window, and shooting at a shutter of 0.5 sec. you have continuous (ambient) light influencing your scene.

The only way to avoid this is to shoot in a totally dark room with nothing but your supplied continuous lights, or shoot with flash at your camera’s x-sync speed which should kill the ambient. (Another plus for flash I might add!) You can, of course mix these lights, shoot at a slower shutter with flash and continuous, but they need to match up as close as possible to avoid color cast (white balance) issues.

For your continuous I like daylight balanced CFL spirals. Look for a color temp of around 5000K and it will say on the box. If I’m not mistaken your 430EX defaults around 5200K. This varies with power output but is close. These bulbs match pretty well with my Canon Speedlights. You can probably find them at Wally World no problem. They are quite common. I have a set of 60 watt and 100 watt equivalent.

I pop them into some cheapie clamp lights and they mix fairly well with my Canon flashes.

Invest in a gray card. Not a huge investment but pays off with big dividends.

The tungsten light is most likely where you are getting color cast problems.

[ashcroft]

I just had a 'doh' moment. Not sure why I didn't think before. If you get a piece of ply-board sheet about A2 size (you may have one in your garage) you can paint one side with matt black to use for a blackdrop, and paint the other side matt white to use as a simple but effective light reflector. Make sure you use matt, not gloss. Wall emulsion will do. You can repaint the white occasionally if it gets grubby.

Did I tell you about my baked-bean can and string smart phone?

[Marie Hass]

Hi, Mark!

I do agree with you, and I have a better image of Amaryllis "Chico" that I shot last year.



This is one of my favorites.

'Rie

[marlunn]

Hi 'Rie, I can see why.

Now i need to go and find one this side of the pond to go with our orchids

[Marie Hass]

And I was thinking of trying orchids.....lols

'Rie

[IzzieK]

'Rie...Rob has a good advice up there...I have quite a good piece of plyboard at the back of my dining room hatch that I can paint and use downstairs so I can have a proper background there! Thank You For This Conversation!!! You started another can of worms here...and it will be nice to see Rob's can of beans in another post...

Thank you Rob....