Photographing Flowers in Studio and in Nature
Flowers probably are the most common still-life subjects for artistic photography. They act as recognizable, everyday subjects that can be shown in extraordinary ways. Flowers make for such common photographic subjects because they're beautiful and designed to attract. They're also easily accessible and somewhat compliant.
Images of flowers have been created for many years in drawings, paintings, and photographs; they're most successful when paired with the appropriate light, environment, and composition. Achieving these requirements depends on whether you're shooting in studio or out in nature itself. So, I discuss each scenario in the following sections.
Some flowers are fairly small, so no matter where you're shooting — indoors or out — using a macro lens may be your best bet to create a composition that magnifies the flower enough to reveal maximum detail. I cover macro lenses further in Chapter 3.
Producing images in the studio
When you photograph flowers in a studio, you don't have to worry about wind or overly bright sunshine, but you do have to create a background for the flower. If your shot consists of just a flower and a background (as it likely will in studio), the background has a major impact on your message. So be sure to choose a background that's appropriate for the flower you're shooting and for the mood you're trying to create. Of course, you should use your best creative judgment for your situation, but here are some general pointers for choosing a background:
• A smooth and even-toned background helps create a simple composition in which the flower is the main focal point.
Figure 15-4 depicts the same flower in front of two different backgrounds. Each has a much different feel and produces a different message. The white background causes you to look only at the flower and maximizes the emphasis on the rose's shape. The green, textured background is more similar to one you'd see in nature. Flowers naturally stand out from the color green (perhaps so bees and birds can see them from far away). The background competes slightly with the rose in a complimentary way and gives you more to look at than just the flower. The shape of the rose isn't as identifiable in this image as it is in the one with the white background.
After you choose an in-studio background for your flower, you also have to consider your lighting. Fortunately, when shooting in the studio, you have complete control over your lighting. You can manipulate its direction, quality, intensity, and the number of sources of light that are used. Most often, flowers are shot with a soft key light source. I shot the roses in Figure 15-4 using window light. The sun wasn't shining directly in the window, so the quality of light was very soft.
Here are some guidelines to keep in mind as you consider your lighting:
Figure 15-4: A background alone can change your message when photographing flowers.
Soft light is used for representing beauty, and most people associate flowers with being beautiful. It also accentuates the rounded shapes of buds and petals. The larger the window, the softer the light will be.
A directional light coming from one side or the other helps to reveal the texture of the flower's petals, buds, stems, and leaves.
For more details about lighting, head to Chapter 10.
Capturinq flowers In their natural environments
Photographing flower subjects in the studio gives you control over the wind and the lighting, but shooting them outdoors enables you to capture their images in a realistic and natural setting. Taking photos of your flower subjects in their most natural settings requires you to consider both background and lighting and also perspective.
Most flowers are naturally designed to stand out from their surroundings. Notice, for example, how well the flowers in Figure 15-5 pop because of their color. A flower's prominence in a scene makes it fairly easy to choose a perspective that enables you to capture great images without having to manipulate the background too much.
Consider the following when finding your perspective for an effective flower image:
Figure 15-5: Flowers naturally stand out from their environments.
Lighting: The direction of your lighting (combined with the elements discussed in the first bullet point) should determine how you approach a flower. A sidelit scenario helps to reveal texture in a flower. Some flowers have thin petals that are semitransparent. A backlit scenario can cause them to glow, such as in the example shown in Figure 15-5.
Flowers can be unruly in a breeze; they sway easily and can make focusing and exposing with slower shutter speeds difficult (movement in slow shutter speeds causes blurring in your photo). However, if you block or eliminate the wind through the use of a collapsible reflector (as I discuss in Chapter 14) or shoot on a calm day, you should have an easy time working with flowers.
Cooking Up Beautiful Food Photos
Food is a frequently chosen subject for still-life photography. You may find yourself composing images of food for a number of reasons. The most common food images are for product photography,
In product photography, food is treated in the same manner as any other subject: It's idealized and made to look immaculate. In the earlier section 'Enhancing your product,' I list some methods of making products look their best. If you're working on a commercial assignment, a professional food stylist is likely to be on set. A stylist handles the food preparation and does all the tricks necessary to get the look the client is going for. So, you're responsible for (and free to focus on) lighting and composing a beautiful photograph of the final product.
