# Photographing orchids



## The Orchid Boy (Dec 6, 2012)

I have many orchids with beautiful blooms but the picture I take "don't do them justice", especially of a red/crimson potinara I have. Any tips for taking pictures inside? I've taken photography classes and have a nice camera. I take really nice pictures of landscapes, flowers, animals, people, ect. outside. I really like the pictures where the background is all black and they cover the stem w/ black. I know a lot of people on here are good orchid photographers, so what's your advice everyone?


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## gonewild (Dec 6, 2012)

Try different lighting until you get results you like.
Photography is all about practice.


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## Marc (Dec 6, 2012)

I post two types of pictures on various orchid sites. 

The first ones are the pictures I take when visiting a nursery or a friend. These are taken with my Canon SX200, a bit bigger then a standard compact but still easy enough to take with you.

If I want to do posed flower shots with a black backdrop like this one:







I make use of the following:

My Canon 400D DSLR
Sigma 105mm Macro
Manfroto tripod with ballhead
Wire remote for operating the camera

Processing software, I mainly use GIMP as it's opensource software which can be downloaded from the net free of charce. Photoshop is also very good but also very expensive if you buy it.

I normally setup my backdrop and plants close to a window so I make maximum use of the natural light and combine this with a longer exposure time if required. I always shoot in RAW and I'll convert the pictures to JPG after I've done the post processing.

I'm not going to explain the post processing bit as there are plenty of good guides to be found on the net.


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## NYEric (Dec 6, 2012)

Dot Potter, SlipperFan, posted a thread about taking nice photos. Unfortunately I am usually not home during the daylight and only have time to snap photos as I'm rushing somewhere so I just ignore her wisdom!


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## Clark (Dec 6, 2012)

I'm addicted to the wire remote.
Been shooting RAW for a while. I'll never go back.


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## Erythrone (Dec 6, 2012)

I use a good camera, tripod and wire remote. Light measure is always at "spot metering " so I can adjust exposure compensation.

I always shoot in Raw.

I've found red and strong orange flowers very difficult to shoot until I decided to adust the saturation in the camera. The saturation of the picture added by the camera is now very low. I correct it in Camera Raw /Photoshop Element. By doing this I keep more details.

I often adust the white balance (by measuring it before I take the picture... or more often with Camera Raw /Photoshop Element, wich is always easy to do).


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## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Dec 6, 2012)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/insight...-orchid-photography-how-get-best-results.html

Some really awesome tips for doing it relatively simply. It will take some playing, but you'll get there. I'm still not terribly good.


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## SlipperFan (Dec 6, 2012)

NYEric said:


> Dot Potter, SlipperFan, posted a thread about taking nice photos. Unfortunately I am usually not home during the daylight and only have time to snap photos as I'm rushing somewhere so I just ignore her wisdom!


Dot Potter Barnett
http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=343174&postcount=16


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## naoki (Dec 6, 2012)

To make the background black, you just want to use the contrasting light. So flower should get lots of light and the background shouldn't get much light. An easy and simple way is to illuminate the flower with a CFL in a reflector or some directional light source and take photos when the ambient light is low. Since the sensors have relatively narrow dynamic range compared to human eyes, the background doesn't has to be completely dark, and as long as there is enough difference in the intensity of light between the foreground and background, you'll get the "black" background. Make sure that the light is dropping only on the flower. If you have a choice, it would be better to use a longer focal length (to minimize the included background area).

If you can have a remote flash (or several flashes), it is easier to control many aspects of photos. You can get pretty cheap radio flash triggers from ebay (e.g. Yong-nuo RF-603). Also you can use other light modifier like soft-box to make the flash "softer".

Alternatively you could use a background cloth like black velvet-like material.


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## The Orchid Boy (Dec 7, 2012)

I took an excellent picture of a beautiful noid phal. It really looks professional. I wrote down the steps and light I used so I could do it again. I didn't use any lights except the glow of a ceiling fluorescent light 5-10 feet away. I also turned off all lights behind the flower. So I didn't use a background or flash either.


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## fibre (Dec 8, 2012)

gonewild said:


> ...
> Photography is all about practice.




Photography is all about light.



.


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## Erythrone (Dec 8, 2012)

Photography is all about practice, light and... nice orchids!


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## gonewild (Dec 8, 2012)

Photography is all about the practice of controlling light.


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## SlipperFan (Dec 8, 2012)

Photography is about *making* (not taking) images.

BTW, photo-graphy means _drawing with light_.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Dec 8, 2012)

*In light of that...*

What I find funny about the opinions of those who haven't attempted to make anything other than a snapshot is their belief that photographs are somehow real, rather than being representations of real things. Photography is manipulation of reality from the get go, so I say, go for it. If you can make a photo "better than" real life, do it.

Light of course is the key and knowing how to manipulate it. In taking photos against a very dark (or distant and dim) background, one needs to make sure the light isn't too unidirectional or odd darkening can occur on parts of the subject. Sometimes that's OK, sometimes it is a problem. 

The ideal place to photograph against a dark background is outside in bright, diffuse light (light coming in from every direction), or some equivalent. Otherwise you need to add light artificially and from more than one direction. A simple, cheap solution is reflecting light onto the subject from below, above or at the sides, depending on the need. Aluminum foil does an admirable job.


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## NYEric (Dec 8, 2012)

SlipperFan said:


> Dot Potter Barnett


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



KyushuCalanthe said:


> What I find funny about the opinions of those who haven't attempted to make anything other than a snapshot is their belief that photographs are somehow real, rather than being representations of real things. Photography is manipulation of reality from the get go, so I say, go for it. If you can make a photo "better than" real life, do it.
> 
> Light of course is the key and knowing how to manipulate it. In taking photos against a very dark (or distant and dim) background, one needs to make sure the light isn't too unidirectional or odd darkening can occur on parts of the subject. Sometimes that's OK, sometimes it is a problem.
> 
> The ideal place to photograph against a dark background is outside in bright, diffuse light (light coming in from every direction), or some equivalent. Otherwise you need to add light artificially and from more than one direction. A simple, cheap solution is reflecting light onto the subject from below, above or at the sides, depending on the need. Aluminum foil does an admirable job.



What the F???


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## reivilos (Dec 9, 2012)

Here is what my studio looks like:








I place the subject far enough from the black screen (t-shirt...) so that the background comes out blackish.
The picture on the right wasn't edited.


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## wjs2nd (Dec 9, 2012)

Great ideas!


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## Clark (Dec 9, 2012)

reivilos said:


> I place the subject far enough from the black screen (t-shirt...) so that the background comes out blackish.



Me too. The space is almost a meter.
Pushing the contrast slider to the right might of helped my snapshots as well.


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## The Mutant (Dec 9, 2012)

Well, I don't belong to the "professional crowd" when it comes to taking pictures of orchids. I believe I'm decent for a noob and if I really committed myself, I might end up at least a decent photographer. I don't have fancy camera, in fact I just realized it's seven years old, it's a rather simple digital camera with a bad tendency of eating batteries and some focusing issues.

What I have discovered though, is that some orchids colours are almost impossible to capture correctly. This is especially true with my Phal. Jennifer Palermo. For the camera to get the colour right (or rather, it does get it right, but it's not what my eyes see so it looks wrong) I have to take pictures of it in direct sunlight, otherwise it always looks too blue.

Here are two examples of what I mean, the first picture is taken in direct sunlight (albeit very yellow sunlight since the sun is so low in the sky), and the second in daylight. The red colour HAS faded, but not as much as it appears in the second picture. 











Here's a picture of my Phal. Wiganiae, also taken in daylight, and the colour is very close to how I perceive it in real life:





So, as a happy amateur I would say that the light is the most important issue (at least it is for me).


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## SlipperFan (Dec 9, 2012)

NYEric said:


> 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.



NYEric said:


> What the F???



Tom is right.


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## NYEric (Dec 9, 2012)

SlipperFan said:


> 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.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Dec 10, 2012)

NYEric said:


> 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!


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## NYEric (Dec 10, 2012)

err.. thanks.


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## SlipperFan (Dec 10, 2012)

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


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## NYEric (Dec 11, 2012)

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:


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## gonewild (Dec 11, 2012)

NYEric said:


> 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.


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## NYEric (Dec 11, 2012)

Hahhahahhahhhahahaahahhaa! 
The what?


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## gonewild (Dec 11, 2012)

NYEric said:


> Hahhahahhahhhahahaahahhaa!
> The what?



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


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## cnycharles (Dec 11, 2012)

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


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## NYEric (Dec 11, 2012)

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


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## cnycharles (Dec 11, 2012)

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


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## gonewild (Dec 11, 2012)

NYEric said:


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



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


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## NYEric (Dec 11, 2012)

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.


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## Erythrone (Dec 11, 2012)

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.


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## NYEric (Dec 11, 2012)

OK, I printed this out to try tonight.


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## SlipperFan (Dec 11, 2012)

A tripod would help you immensely, Eric. Seriously.


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## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Dec 11, 2012)

NYEric said:


> 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


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## Ray (Dec 12, 2012)

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.


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## Paul Mc (Dec 12, 2012)

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.


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## gonewild (Dec 12, 2012)

Paul Mc said:


> 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.



No not "white balance". Don't confuse white balance with exposure.

White balance is different. White balance is when you adjust (correct) for the color of the light source. The +/- is exposure compensation.

When you adjust the white balance the color tone of the picture is changed in a red or blue direction to give your image the color as if it were in natural daylight.

If you adjust the exposure compensation the intensity of the light is changed. Moving in the "-" direction makes the image darker and moving in the "+" direction makes the image lighter.

It the case of a light colored flower against a black background the camera light meter wants to adjust everything in the picture to a medium grey color. That means it tries to make the blacks lighter and the whites darker. Since the black background occupies a larger percentage of the area of the picture the camera thinks it is more important so it adds light to the picture. This added light causes the flower to become too bright and blown out. The solution is is use the "-" button to tell the camera to remove light. You control the amount of light removed until the flower has the correct exposure by darkening the flower. When you darken the flower you also darken the background at the same time. (a darker background is what you wanted in the first place).


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## Erythrone (Dec 12, 2012)

SlipperFan said:


> A tripod would help you immensely, Eric. Seriously.




Maybe Santa Claus could help ?


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## Erythrone (Dec 12, 2012)

gonewild said:


> No not "white balance". Don't confuse white balance with exposure.
> 
> White balance is different. White balance is when you adjust (correct) for the color of the light source. The +/- is exposure compensation.
> 
> ...



I am glad you wrote this message since it is so difficult for me to write something like this in English.:sob:


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## gonewild (Dec 12, 2012)

Erythrone said:


> I am glad you wrote this message since it is so difficult for me to write something like this in English.:sob:



It was not easy for me to write it in English either!


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## Erythrone (Dec 12, 2012)

So you are far better than me in this language!


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## gonewild (Dec 12, 2012)

Erythrone said:


> So you are far better than me in this language!



Yes but English is my first language!


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## cnycharles (Dec 12, 2012)

sometimes it's hard to keep the +'s and -'s straight in your own head when trying to explain 'light' to someone else. I believe eric said that he uses 'smart' phones to take pictures, so there won't be any true buttons, just menus to search through until the right 'screen' comes up, if there is one for adjustment on those things. too bad the phone isn't 'smart' enough to figure out what the right light level should be


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## gonewild (Dec 12, 2012)

cnycharles said:


> too bad the phone is 'smart' enough to figure out what the right light level should be



Yeah if it really was smart it would know flower was what is important! 
But then what does a phone care about a flower anyways?
Phones really do love the darkness of cyberspace, that is just the nature of their species.


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## jblanford (Dec 12, 2012)

Well for what it's worth, this is what I do for my pics. I have a cheap P&S camera, I'll post a picture of my setup, didn't cost much at all the tripods are from Goodwill at about $4-$5 each, the side clip lights have CFLs daylight 60w. the top&back light is a daylight fluorescent which I rase or lower depends on the plant, the black BG is felt from a craft store. So what I do is compose my shot then I have my wife place a white card behind the plant I press the shutter button half way down the camrea sets the exposure & focus then I have her drop the card I take the picture. Then I have a cheap Microsoft Digital program where I sharpen, lighten, darken, crop, and add a border. I hope this is of some help, I find it fun and not to expensive.... Jim.


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## Paul Mc (Dec 12, 2012)

LOL... Ok, forget what I said! Thought I understood white balancing, but apparently I had a wrong notion of it after all. My bad.


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## Paul Mc (Dec 12, 2012)

Jblanford, now that's the set!!!! WOW!!! I'm totally bowing to the master!


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## SlipperFan (Dec 12, 2012)

Jim, you might try diffusion screens in front of your lights. They will cut down on glare. (You'll also have to increase exposure a bit.)

@ Lance -- good explanation.

About smart phones and their photos: Most don't have the close-up capability that is required for good flower photography. And the screens are so small it's hard (at least for me) to critique what I see on that screen for appropriate sharpness. But the good thing with any digital cameras vs. film cameras is that you should be able to see fairly well whether the exposure is good or not. Or at least close.


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## Ozpaph (Dec 13, 2012)

gonewild said:


> No not "white balance". Don't confuse white balance with exposure.
> 
> White balance is different. White balance is when you adjust (correct) for the color of the light source. The +/- is exposure compensation.
> 
> ...



Excellent explanation. Thank-you.


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## The Mutant (Dec 13, 2012)

Wow, thanks for all the information! I didn't realize I have one of those +/- buttons, or rather, that I could do more with it than just delete pictures. :rollhappy:

I'm now having fun playing with exposure, colour balance, and white balance. Maybe my camera isn't as crappy as I've accused it of being, but it's more of an owner/technological impaired idiot issue. 

Dang, there goes my easy to take photos... One shouldn't start caring. :wink:


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## NYEric (Dec 13, 2012)

I can sympathize with your explanation!


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## The Orchid Boy (Dec 13, 2012)

Great tips and thanks for sharing your pictures. I'll have to post a few of my better shots.


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