need lighting suggestions

[chauncey]

This tulip plant, 5 bulbs, caught my eye at the grocery store because of the petals and color.
I used nothing but bounced lighting from walls and ceiling...want to do better...how?

[Mike Buckley]

When I think of flowers, I always think of back lighting to bring out the translucent beauty of the petals.

[chauncey]

Thought of that Mike. I want to retain the folds and pleats definition as that's what caught my eye.

[Shadowman]

Try some natural light through a window.

[DanK]

I think it has to be individualized, for the effects you want in each photo. In this case, for example, you want to retain the surface textures. So, perhaps it would be worth trying two lights. One, which could be bounced, would give a general illumination. The second could be direct and from the side, to create slight shadows and highlight the pleats, etc. I agree with Mike that backlighting is sometimes nice, and I have often combined that with either a bounced light or frontal direct lighting.

[Geoff F]

Looking good to me; but I wonder if a crop of the sides to produce a 4 x 5 ratio would give more apparent height?

[chauncey]

Here I used the previous bounce and added one to each side...what say you?

[DanK]

I like the effect--the small shadows highlighting the ridges, etc. However, I would change the balance--weaken the side lighting relative to the bounce. It's quite harsh this way, and the few large shadows are too deep for my taste.

This is why I never use flash for flowers. With continuous lighting, you can more or less see what it will look like. I move the lights around until I get an effect I think I like and then take one or more high-ISO handheld test shots to see it in two dimensions, then adjust further if need be. I have never used more than two lights, but I am thinking of taking the splurge on a third to get more flexibility. I use this one for direct lighting and this one for either direct or bounced off an umbrella, but in both cases with the high-wattage incandescents replaced with a 50 or 75 W halogen.

[Barbara Ponder]

Have you thought about lying the flower on it's side so that you get the beautiful lines and textures?

[chauncey]

I'm sorry Barbara, I don't understand why that would make a difference.

[Marie Hass]

Dear Chauncey,

Have you lighting from above or below?

You seem to be struggling with the same issues as me?

I use 100W LED lights in my painter's clip-on lights. Since they are a cold light, I can use a napkin or a piece of paper as a modifer. I have even used my husband's hankies. (lols) I tape folded papers to the reflectors to serve as my "flags". You would laugh. Lighting on a budget.

Regards,

Marie

[JBW]

I would try a slightly darker shot from the camera and then in post processing add just a hint of blue and some HDRish type work.