What else is there to do on a gray, windy and chilly day but to dig out some photo gear, a bouquet of flowers, some props and lighting and play. I spent a few hours this morning trying different lighting and prop setups just to see what was what.
The bouquet included some lilies, carnations, daisies, baby’s breath and some greenery so there was lots to work with. My first few shots were done with an 80mm macro lens so I could pick up the details in the stamen of the lily.
It also gave me a chance to capture the detail in the centre of the daisy. While I was at it, I also played around with different placements for the gear – tripod, light stand, flash, umbrella, diffusion material etc. I essentially turned our kitchen into a mini studio – all while trying to keep the cat and dog from helping me – they really wanted to!
Behind the scenes for sure.
Moving on…
With the clear glass vase I ran into issues with the reflections. I closed the kitchen window curtains (didn’t help), then I tried feathering the light to about 45º to the subject – nope. I never did solve it completely – but that’s what learning is all about, right?
These are essentially unedited except for a bit of colour correction and cropping a bit. I played with a diffuser panel, then a white (coroplast) reflector (Dollar Store variety) to soften the shadow to the right of the vase. I tried it directly under, at 45º and full side. Essentially I just played to see how they’d look.
One good thing about flowers is they tend to stay where you put them, and they don’t need coffee or potty breaks. A few dollars well spent for hours of entertainment (except for the clean up afterwards!)
And now we wait to see if the forecasters were right about the storm – or not. Will we be buried under mountains of snow? Or will it just blow by? Stay tuned for the next episode of As The Storm Blows…
Capturing Cherished Memories 