Close to death?

[rob marshall]

My Head Gardener informs me that this had 'about had it'. It looked fine to me. But as it was on death's doorstep I grabbed the modelling knife ready to slice off some stray stems and flowers. Bad move! Imprecations, death threats, withdrawal of pocket-money So I had to clone out the bad bits in Photoshop. Hope you don't notice.

[Wirefox]

The first one is just about perfect. I am sure we have all had a go at these orchid shots but have failed to get this clarity. I like No 2 even more because the background complements the yellows far better. the only gripe I have is the shadow in the lower left third of the frame. Gorgeous flower shots nonetheless.

[rob marshall]

The first one is just about perfect. I am sure we have all had a go at these orchid shots but have failed to get this clarity.

It's not too difficult at all. For #1 I had a black velvet backdrop, two very cheap (Walmart level) studio flash heads with diffusers/umbrellas. I placed some white card under the plant to bounce back some of the light from above. I used a Canon 50D and a Sigma 105mm macro. The lens enabled me to get further away from the subject (6ft) so I had no problems with DOF. Sometimes it's better to stand back a bit. I only took the one shot, and it took about 10 mins to edit.

This was the original RAW, before editing in ACR. I wanted a square shot so I took it in landscape mode, which includes all the extraneous stuff I didn't want.

[Katy Noelle]

Oh, my goodness! Just put that knife down!!! No more mysteries for you, young man!

Alright, I'll try and comment. I'm sure that I don't understand half of what you've done but I do really like #1 very much. #2 is indeed, very beautiful with the blue and the sunny yellow - they're a lovely compliment - and all of that gorgeous, pure white. and, indeed, it is all so clear. I don't know if the shadow is good or bad. sorry.

[MiniChris]

When you did your editing, wee you able to sharpen the image a bit more. It seems a tad "fuzzy" to me, especially the one at the top left - which oddly enough would be a bit closer to the lens. somehow, it lacks your general attention to absolute sharpness...but, I like it anyway. I ordered some holga flash and slave units to play with for setups just like this...I love tinkering and while not "cheap," I do like to get by with what I can...

[rob marshall]

When you did your editing, wee you able to sharpen the image a bit more. It seems a tad "fuzzy" to me, especially the one at the top left - which oddly enough would be a bit closer to the lens. somehow, it lacks your general attention to absolute sharpness...but, I like it anyway. I ordered some holga flash and slave units to play with for setups just like this...I love tinkering and while not "cheap," I do like to get by with what I can...

I normally sharpen a little in RAW, then do most of the final sharpening in PS. The flower on the top left was probably further away because of the angle of the plant. here is a 120% shot of that flower. With a 105mm lens on a crop-factor camera at 6ft away, there isn't too much problem with getting a fairly shallow DOF all in focus. Of course, it may result in a rather 'flat' look, but I'm not sure if that has happened here?

[Pohled]

Hello,

Very nice! We always have orchids here at home, but I haven't managed yet to take a nice shot of them. I'll try some soon and then post here to see what's possible. Congratulations, Rob!

[tihsgod]

Rob, yes very nice...

I prefer framing in shot 1. I think the general flatness in 1 works well with the black but also the shadow in the second shot adds some depth in that which is good also.

Maybe I would prefer a very small amount (maybe just 2 mm ) of more room on the right hand side in 1?

Orchids... I can't even look after spider plants!

neil

[rob marshall]

Rob, yes very nice...

I prefer framing in shot 1. I think the general flatness in 1 works well with the black but also the shadow in the second shot adds some depth in that which is good also.

Maybe I would prefer a very small amount (maybe just 2 mm ) of more room on the right hand side in 1?

Orchids... I can't even look after spider plants!

neil

Thanks, Neil. I did see the shadow before I took it. My studio lights (like nearly all others) has a modelling lamp which permanently illuminates the scene so you can see what the flash effect will be when it fires. I thought, as you said, that the shadow added some depth. Otherwise it might have looked too flat

I don't look after the plants - my wife does. How kind is that.