Photographing orchids

[SlipperFan]

Sorry, I told you I was always in a rush!

No problem. Just wanted to say I'm happy to be a Barnett as well as a Potter.

What the F???

Tom is right.

 

[NYEric]

Tom is right.

He may be; however this exposes a problem. I may never be a good photographer because I can't comprehend what he posted.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

He may be; however this exposes a problem. I may never be a good photographer because I can't comprehend what he posted.

Gosh, I wasn't trying to be obscure...

...but Eric, you've given me a new idea for a video I can make - how to take pictures of orchid flowers. Thanks for the idea!

 

[NYEric]

err.. thanks.

 

[SlipperFan]

Very good, Tom -- that should help a lot of people.

 

[NYEric]

OMG! I tried to take a photo fo the Phrag bloom I posted last night using a blck backdrop and a light.. so BAD!!! :sob:

 

[gonewild]

OMG! I tried to take a photo fo the Phrag bloom I posted last night using a blck backdrop and a light.. so BAD!!! :sob:

You can't rely on the overall camera auto exposure meter when you use a black back ground. The camera will try to lighten the black and the result is an overexposed flower. Use the exposure compensation +- to adjust "-" light.

 

[NYEric]

Hahhahahhahhhahahaahahhaa!
The what?

 

[gonewild]

Hahhahahhahhhahahaahahhaa!
The what?

The tiny little "+/-" button that magically changes a crappy picture into a good picture. :sob:

 

[cnycharles]

when you try to do what you did last night, first put a white cloth around the plant/flowers. look at what the readings are for that picture and write them down. next, put the camera into manual mode, put in the settings that you wrote down (if possible) and put a black cloth around the flower and take a picture

 

[NYEric]

OMG are you people serious? Maybe I need a "brownie'!!

 

[cnycharles]

well, if you can't adjust your camera, then there isn't a point in trying to be fancy. though, if you use a medium gray background and bright light overall, then the camera will still see it more or less as 'white', and it will be lighter, so you may get a better exposure and result

 

[gonewild]

OMG are you people serious? Maybe I need a "brownie'!!

Yes you do need a brownie.....one from Colorado.

 

[NYEric]

My camera is like my phone. I went from a Razr to a G4 Slide-touch phone !! I need to take time to learn more about my camera, at least in natural light it seem to be OK.

 

[Erythrone]

Eric,

1. you can just try to find tiny little +/- button
2. Once you have find it, try to turn the button to -.3 or -.6 or even -1... and shoot
3. After that you can try by increesing (+.3, +.6... +2 if you want) and shoot.

You will see the results and I am sure you will undersand. With practice it is easy to estimate the good correction. For a light flower (with spot measure on the flower) I will often shoot at +0.7 or +1. For a dark red I shoot at -1 or -0.6.

 

[NYEric]

OK, I printed this out to try tonight.

 

[SlipperFan]

A tripod would help you immensely, Eric. Seriously.

 

[Paph_LdyMacBeth]

OMG are you people serious? Maybe I need a "brownie'!!

Oh! I feel like you do Eric!
I borrowed my boss' Canon G12...it does macro all by itself Excellent!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9300 using Tapatalk

 

[Ray]

One of the best things I have ever done to improve my photography is follow Dot's suggestions and the critiques I've gotten here.

Others include tripod, black velvet for background, wireless remote shutter release, a good diffuser for flash (when used), and spot metering.

 

[Paul Mc]

Gonewild and NYEric, it's called white balancing. This is done with all cameras and video equipment before shooting any sort of footage/pictures. You might want to look at your camera's instruction manual to see if they have a section on white balancing to help you find the proper buttons in your specific models.