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07-05-2018, 10:02 AM   #16
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If you want most of the flowers to be in focus, you'll need to do one of two things:
- make sure most of the flowers are on the same focal plane
- use a smaller aperture (and maybe some flash) to widen your depth of field.

Depth of field can be tricky. With flowers, you're probably shooting from a fairly close distance (say, a couple of feet), and that compresses your depth of field considerably. You may need to go up to f/11 or f/16 or so to really get a good in-focus slice.

The other issue is that, if you're shooting close-ups of flowers with a regular lens, you may get out of focus areas around the edges. That's a lens curvature thing, and the way to correct that is to use a macro lens. Macro lenses are "flat field," which means they are designed to combat that issue.

07-05-2018, 10:11 AM - 1 Like   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by Kozlok Quote
The biggest thing with flower photos (indeed ALL photos) is to make sure you have interesting light. Taking photos at noon isn't going to give great results. You can use a flash to add interesting light, or wait until the light is interesting in the sky.
Lots of good advice here but Kozlok's would be my number one suggestion for what you posted. It's not so much what or how, but rather when. Right after dawn or just before dusk, with the flowers backlit can produce wonderful vibrant pedals and magical bokeh with a shallow depth of field. Add a bit of dew or right after a shower with a bit of water and it's even better.

Good light, as in directional and fleeting, makes a big difference.
07-05-2018, 11:41 AM   #18
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The depth of field (aperture setting) is going to be the setting that determines what amount of the shot will contain detail and what will not. For example F3.5 may contain detail in the flower that you focus initially on but not in the flower to the side but a little further back. On the other hand, if F9 was used for the same shot, it may include detail in the flower that you initially focus on plus more or all detail of the flower that is to the side but a little further back. If there is no wind or breeze, you could use a shutter speed like 125 or faster, depending on your preference, and if it is breezy you may want to use 320 shutter speed or above to account for any movement. When it is bright out I usually use TAV mode and adjust my EV to a minus that will eliminate the brightness I do not want, also accounting for a better ISO (lower). The main thing to determine is what the main subject is and what to include in the image. You may also want to leave a little room around the subject in your image so that you can crop out your subject later.

Last edited by C_Jones; 07-05-2018 at 11:50 AM.
07-05-2018, 12:16 PM - 4 Likes   #19
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All great advice, I have been out and about the garden this afternoon looking to use some of the advice, I did realise that it needed watering!
I liked the colours provided by the Roses and Hosta flowers, so here they are.
I really need to think of what I want to achieve with my shots though.

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07-05-2018, 12:51 PM - 2 Likes   #20
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Mostly its going to be composition and lighting. A single flower has a natural compositional balance, but multiple flowers have to be worked on. After you get that sorted out, here is an idea. One thing I like to do is shoot at minimum focal distance wide open. Backgrounds tend to melt and/or have interesting effects. This fits my style which is somewhat the opposite of realistic. YMMV here, but I think each lens has an ideal subject size at MFD, within the bounds of post processing cropping and that can be found through experimentation. So, here are three very different lenses at MFD, wide open with pretty different results.

The Formula 5 135mm 1.8 may be one of the worst lenses in the world wide open. Nonetheless it produces interesting results. Wide open at 1.8 MFD



Canon FL 55mm 1.2 An antique also wide open




Spiratone Plura-Coat 24mm 2.8 wide open


07-05-2018, 02:08 PM   #21
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You are doing a good job. Nothing like doing more to gain experience and to improve. I think with the subject flowers you present here, it would be difficult to select a main one as a subject of interest, so it would be better to back off a bit and find a good group cluster for a better composition, and perhaps a background against which they'd stand out. And of course, lighting is important.
07-05-2018, 04:35 PM   #22
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At F5.6 and ISO 400 must be lighted enough ( except you use filter ) but shows less light.
My choice would be increase EV and rotate the camera from landscape to portrait.

07-05-2018, 04:43 PM - 1 Like   #23
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I do like your roses there, with just a touch of sunlight....

QuoteOriginally posted by kernos Quote
Mostly its going to be composition and lighting.
.... and I really like these. I've been trying, in my more collected moments, to think about what strikes me about the flower as photo-worthy and interesting, and then trying to match lens qualities, composition, and settings to bring that out in the photo. As there is such a range of surfaces, colors, forms, and contexts this seems to vary. It seems to me that doing this well is more of a challenge than many might initially think. In the last week or 2 I've been looking at some of these photos, having followed a link from another PF post about, I think, what constitutes good image quality;

Classic Color Creation | Ernst Haas
07-06-2018, 04:10 AM - 1 Like   #24
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My neighbour's bit of wild garden. I was waiting for the sun to reach my flowers as I was going to be busy later but no luck. My neighbour has this in his garden and as the sunlight was illuminating the berries, I took this. Afterwards I thought maybe I should have used a much longer focal length and had the berries bigger as they don't seem to draw the eye as much as I had hoped.
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07-06-2018, 06:32 AM - 2 Likes   #25
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Crop to landscape aspect the lower third of that image. It will give a upper left diagonal with the berries, but lighting in the center. I think that's a more compelling image.

Mmmmm, ripe gooseberries....
07-06-2018, 06:43 AM - 2 Likes   #26
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Do you mean like this? If so, you are right. I like it! Maybe I should have used a 200mm or 300mm lens.
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07-06-2018, 07:56 AM - 2 Likes   #27
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Yup. To me, this is a more interesting image, you can even see the beetle damage on that leaf in the background - and it's close enough to highlight the translucency of the gooseberries.
It's a more intimate image as well, puts you right in the bush.

I'm going to have to look for gooseberry jam at the farmer's markets. We grow black raspberries, though the flood last year killed our vines and our sour cherry trees, and we're still depressed.
07-06-2018, 08:40 AM   #28
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For me it still lacks the exposure brightness. Green is not the peaking color.
Try to shot a white refrigerator to determine the color contrast.
07-07-2018, 01:40 AM   #29
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With a digital camera, you don't need to be frugal with the number of shots you take. Using aperture priority, you can try changing the aperture, say from f4 to f11 using one of the E dials, and even try over or under exposing with the other E dial. That might seem like extravagance, but when later examined on a computer screen, the differences will allow you to choose the best one. Also, some of the pictures will be slightly out of focus, or not framed quite right. Professional photographers always take lots of exposures and edit later for the best (unless they are limited by glass plate cameras to very few shots).
07-07-2018, 02:04 AM   #30
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QuoteOriginally posted by pentasonic49 Quote
Professional photographers always take lots of exposures and edit later for the best (unless they are limited by glass plate cameras to very few shots).
While not a professional myself, I think that is a wildly inaccurate generalisation.

I suspect most professionals, especially those who shoot flowers, would go to great lengths to get everything right (light, framing, focus, depth of field, exposure) before the shutter is pressed.

With the exception of deliberate techniques like HDR and focus stacking of course
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