Orchid close up - advice please

Trying to get to grips with my new camera.
This is a close up of a miniature orchid in bud with one flower open. I have set up a black backdrop and am using a tripod and remote button to avoid shake.

I am only using camera flash.

This is straight from the camera and host not been touched, cropped or manipulated.

Please critique and let me know where/how to improve.

Thank you.

File: DTPS Sogo Tris.NEF
Image Quality: Compressed RAW (12-bit)

Camera Info
Device: Nikon D3100
Lens: VR 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 55mm
Focus Mode: Manual
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR: ON

Exposure
Aperture: F/9
Shutter Speed: 1/200s
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: -0.3EV
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 400

Flash
Device: Built-in Flash
Flash Sync Mode: Rear Curtain
Flash Mode: i-TTL-BL, -0.3EV

It does not look too sharp but it's hard to say from just a screen view. The clamp does bother me a lot. I'd either crop it out or paint it out. The flash created very annoying reflections from the flower and it makes it look a little too harsh for my personal taste.

Marcel pretty much hit the nail on the head. Also if you are going to have a black background it needs to be truly black.
Also with a RAW image you really will need to edit to adjust Sharpness and part of being a good photographer today is your post processing skills.

One thing I forgot to mention. When you are using flash, the flash duration is about 1/1000 of a second or faster. There is then no need for the tripod and the remote. That is unless there is also a lot of ambient light and a slow shutter speed that could influence the exposure.

It looks to me like the clamp is in focus where the flower is not.

I'm assuming you were shooting mostly in the dark and then flashing to capture the flower. Suggestion: Tripod mount, flood the subject with light, let the camera auto focus on the flower, set the lens back to manual focus so it stays put, and then snap the picture with the remote.

I am NOT the pro that many around here are. I'm just suggesting what I could envision doing. It is similar to how I did my Gargoyle pictures in my Project 365 except I used a stationary mounted LED to cast the light where I wanted it.

I agree with all said above, but also, the flash created a huge shadow on the stem completely blocking it.

I'd suggest that if you still have access to these flowers, try moving it to an area with more natural light and shoot without the flash. Use your tripod, and Aperture priority. Then play with different F stops and allow the camera to select the speed for a proper exposure.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your input.

I agree the flower doesn't look as sharp as the buds, I'm still trying to figure it all out. I haven't done any cropping or other aesthetics; I just wanted to thing in focus and correctly lit.


I was shooting mostly in the dark with a black backdrop and just the camera flash thinking it would make the subject show up more. I didn't think about auto focus and then setting to manual. I was just using manual so I could learn what each setting did.

Nikonpup, you suggested turning off VR. What does that do? My hands are not the steadiest, hence the tripod and remote, so I left VR on. What improvements would it make by turning it off?

I appreciate all your comments and am going to try all your suggestions now and see what happens.

Thank you.

VR can cause blur when mounted on a tripod. Always shut off on a tripod.

Thanks Moab, I would never have known that. Stuff like this isn't in the handbooks, only the forums

thanks.

The image does seem a little soft to me and the hard edged shadows made by on-camera flash really take away from the beautiful colors of the orchids. What is that green thing in the bottom of the frame, is that a clamp holding the flower? That should be cropped or cloned out.

Softened light is very flattering for beautiful flowers like orchids. It reduces the contrast over direct flash, which brings out the colors. I like to photograph flowers in what is called a light tent. It is a three sided structure (four if you include the background but that is separate for me) around the subject and uses a diffusion material to soften the light. Below is a photo I did of three orchids in my light tent. There were strobes to both sides and from above. I changed the lighting ratios from one to the other to provide some modeling to the stems. The light is very flattering to the flowers. Although I find strobes easier to work with, there is no reason why you could not use continuous light sources. They are a lot cheaper than studio strobes!



If you are interested, I have a pretty in depth article on macrophotography on my website. Perhaps you might find it useful. The URL is Venturing Into the Exciting World of Macrophotography

Thanks Scott, that image of the orchids is exactly what I am trying to create. I followed the link to your website and, wow, you explained everything in terms I can understand, you explained all the options with their Pro's and Cons while leaving the final decision with the reader. Thanks. I certainly picked up a lot of information from that article, as I have from this forum already, and will certainly be putting advice to use.

I think the first job is getting down to Home Depot for some plumbing pipe to make that light box.

Thank you.

STM said:

If you are interested, I have a pretty in depth article on macrophotography on my website. Perhaps you might find it useful. The URL is Venturing Into the Exciting World of Macrophotography

Click to expand...

Excellent info on your web site.. Thanks for sharing it... some day I would like to try some of that..

Pat in NH

learnit said:

Thanks Scott, that image of the orchids is exactly what I am trying to create. I followed the link to your website and, wow, you explained everything in terms I can understand, you explained all the options with their Pro's and Cons while leaving the final decision with the reader. Thanks. I certainly picked up a lot of information from that article, as I have from this forum already, and will certainly be putting advice to use.

I think the first job is getting down to Home Depot for some plumbing pipe to make that light box.

Thank you.

Click to expand...

Glad it helped! Mine is 31" all the way around. I chose this because my diffusion material is a plain white twin sized bedsheet folded in half and sewn together. It is also big enough to photograph most things. The nice thing about PVC is you can take it apart and it stores in very little space. I have the 90 degree unions glued to one piece of pipe only. My total expenditure, including the bedsheet, was less than $25. Compare and contrast that to a much smaller commercial light tent that can go for $100. Macrophotography can be very equipment intensive but it does not HAVE to be. You will need a good sturdy tripod and a macro lens. Primes are exceedingly better than zooms in my opinion because they are designed with that specific task in mind. You might consider getting an older manual focus Micro Nikkor. The 55mm f/2.8 (especially) and f/3.5 Micro Nikkors are superb lenses and can be found used (like on "Fleabay") for very reasonable prices. Since you are using DX, their effective focal length will be longer which gives you more camera to subject distance. Autofocus is not a good idea with macro in my opinion because the depth of field is so shallow at times that if the camera focuses on what it thinks is right, there is a very good liklihood it will NOT be what you want to focus on. Of course autofocus camera focusing screens are not the best for manual focusing which is why, since I only have AI and AIS Nikkors, I changed the focusing screen in my D700 to a microprism one.