Flower macros

cid

"light is defining shape"
Nov 27, 2012
401
1
500px.com
very nice thread, if you allow I'll add some of my recent works

all are shot with 5D mk III and 100L

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Jack Douglas

CR for the Humour
Apr 10, 2013
6,980
2,602
Alberta, Canada
Nice samples being posted.

Since I'm very new to this I'm wondering what it takes to get spectacular shots. It seems to me that many flowers don't actually lend themselves to crisp lines or features such as one would get in shooting a bird, for example. A typical flower has considerable depth and may have a shift in coloration that is subtle.

Of course, when we view the flower in real life we recognize its beauty but for me anyway, when I see the shot afterwards it usually doesn't seem to deliver that punch.

Any thoughts, or am I the problem?

Jack
 
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Jack Douglas said:
BTW I know I could benefit from having the Canon 100 macro - quite a lens!

Jack


Yes, the 100mm macro is very good. I'm attracted by the form and colour of flowers. Therefore, I tend to walk around them a lot or rotate the vase if I'm dealing with an arrangement, look at them from different angles and take lots of shots to see which ones produce a pleasing effect. Sometimes that means the whole flower but often it means a part of the flower, a line, a curve combined with attractive (to me anyway) coloration. You should use mirror lock-up, a remote shutter release and the self-timer function to prevent or minimize vibration and live view to frame your shots. I recommend you use manual focus, as well. To some extent what you get is a function of how much practice you get.
 
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dpc said:
Jack Douglas said:
BTW I know I could benefit from having the Canon 100 macro - quite a lens!

Jack


Yes, the 100mm macro is very good. I'm attracted by the form and colour of flowers. Therefore, I tend to walk around them a lot or rotate the vase if I'm dealing with an arrangement, look at them from different angles and take lots of shots to see which ones produce a pleasing effect. Sometimes that means the whole flower but often it means a part of the flower, a line, a curve combined with attractive (to me anyway) coloration. You should use mirror lock-up, a remote shutter release and the self-timer function to prevent or minimize vibration and live view to frame your shots. I recommend you use manual focus, as well. To some extent what you get is a function of how much practice you get.

I should have added, of course, that a tripod is most useful.
 
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