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Flowers close-up shots

Close-up photography of flowers gives us a good set of distinctive and important images..but it is necessary to know the best ways to obtain these images in their field locations in nature, as it is difficult to control the control of important and influential processes in producing a correct and error-free image.

In a previous issue, we talked about making the best close-up photos by relying on special devices and accessories that are capable of achieving that. And we will continue here within one of the best fields of close-up photography.... The field is photographing flowers, whose magnification measures are limited to between 1/10 of the subject (× 0.1) and 1/1 of the subject (1) or a little more than that. (× 1.5) This is for plants of large sizes. The second is used for subjects, and the first magnification is usually used for smaller flowers or for small details.

Flowers are like the bush - the male organ of the flower - or the petals - a leaf from the corolla - . We mention first that photographing flowers in their natural locations - the field, for example - is much more difficult than photographing them inside the studio, but it is necessary to point out several reliable methods to avoid those difficulties that prevent a clear image when the photographer is at the mercy of natural conditions, as he cannot influence the location and the background. Lighting, location and content, no matter how perfect the location of the flower It is typical of its species but is often the most inappropriate location for photography. Weeds, leaves, or other obstacles usually come in the way of the camera. From here, before starting photography, we have to determine the general content of the photo frame first, and one of the common methods in this field is to fill the entire frame with the flower, but sometimes the photographer prefers to photograph the flower within its natural surroundings, with as much of its background as possible. He also often decides to get closer to the flower to capture some of its details, such as the stamens. or coronet or part thereof as well.


After defining the content, it becomes necessary to determine the style and extent of modification in the flower’s background, its surroundings, and its location... If the photographer chooses an approximate part of the subject, the background here will have no justification, as the flower itself becomes the background for the main subject - the strings, for example - but if he wants to show the flower within Its wider location avoids some of the technical dilemmas of close-up photography. The depth of field and angle of view must be taken into account, and here wide-angle lenses help to take pictures of this type.

In shots like this, where the background is important, it is advisable to adopt simplified backgrounds that are not accumulated, and the dark background is usually more effective than the light background for most flowers. As for the capture facing space, it rarely achieves sufficient effectiveness, and the choice of lens affects the alteration of the relationship between the flower and the background. With the use of a lens with Long focal range, we get a narrow angle of view with more opportunity to choose. For close focus, a full-round lens can be adopted. Among the good examples we find the Micro Nikkor 105mm lens and the Hasselblad 135mm lens (S-Planar). The location of the camera itself is high-low - it gives some control, knowing that the location of the flower itself can limit the field of choice, so if the background looks good from a low place, for example, while The flower exaggerates its deviation towards the top. Some adjustments must be made so that the stem of the flower can be moved gently towards a better location. One of the important measures here is the use of thick copper wire with forceps fixed at one end so that it can be inserted into the ground and bent in several directions as required. But when we do not find any background It is appropriate to use an artificial background, which is a slice of black velvet or of different colors, with reference here to the danger of its appearance as an unnatural part within the image. Finally, with the camera in place, everything can be removed or removed It is adjacent to it.. bending the papers on both sides and cutting off what there is no room to remove. Depth of field and movement. It is normal for the depth of field to be limited whenever the shot is taken from close distances. Likewise, it is not possible to take a picture of the flower that is sharp in its entirety, because most flowers are considered deep compared to its breadth, so the necessity often requires us to withdraw a little and accept a smaller magnification to achieve sharpness in all the foreground and background of the subject, and the adoption of a small aperture of the lens will give a greater depth of field, with the need for a slow shutter speed. This is the case. From here, we will find that a simple breeze will be sufficient to cause movement in the subject that affects the purity of the image and its sharpness. So, with the use of a slower shutter speed of 1/30 of a second, it is necessary to secure something that blocks the way for the wind, and here we can adopt cardboard or plastic slides that are basically equipped in a way that allows them to be installed wherever we want. As the copper wire that we have mentioned can help us to hold the plant steady and for those who do not want these complications. They can ignore the need for complete sharpness in the image to obtain a certain impressionistic effect, so that the focus is on one part of the details so that the other parts remain as a blurred background with soft lighting. Natural lighting is difficult to adjust, but some adjustments can be made to it by using

Reflectors or scatterers to add shadows or to emphasize the appearance of poorly lit details. But if the photographer chooses to wait for typical lighting conditions, depending on the weather, there is no guarantee for him that the flower will remain as it is, waiting for that. Here we say that the field of close-up photography does not need bright sunlight during the day. Cloudy can be exploited to give pictures that are fully saturated in color, by using soft natural light, and the flash can be used to provide the largest possible amount of full light adjustment. When this flash shines directly on Venus, it can mimic sunlight to some extent. However, the result, unfortunately, will look very artificial if the shot includes a large amount of background, as long as the lighting does not extend evenly over the entire image. One of the preferred methods here is to diffuse the light from the flash with a photographic umbrella or a piece of semi-transparent white cloth.

This will not only spread the light over a wider area, but will also give a softer light impression. Thus, the field photography of flowers becomes similar to working in the studio, where there are greater possibilities of control and control. Many camera pillars are plants that can only be photographed from the ground level, and the camera must be focused firmly, as is the case with the three-legged pillar. There are some of these pillars that can be adapted for filming from the ground level by opening their legs to the horizontal position, or by reversing the center column - if this is not available, a base dish or a triangular pillar with a pocket or a table can be used. The base plate is simply a heavy, circular plate equipped with a ball-joint head that holds the camera. As for the pillars, they should be used with caution because they are not as stable as the base plate.