Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: annew on February 04, 2020, 01:13:16 PM

Title: Taking studio portraits of plants
Post by: annew on February 04, 2020, 01:13:16 PM: I was asked how I take my plant portrait shots (flower/plant on black background). I just took photos of my setup, using my little snapshot camera, so I apologise for the quality of the pictures!
My camera is a CANON EOS 650D digital SLR. I bring the plants into my living room where I can get indirect light at a north-west facing window. I have a copy stand against which I prop a sheet of matt black mountboard, which is angled AWAY from the window.
Clipped into the camera holder of the stand is a steel rule, which can be lowered down to the pot surface if I need to show scale.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
Title: Re: Taking studio portraits of plants
Post by: annew on February 04, 2020, 01:18:05 PM: I keep another sheet of white mountboard handy, in case I need a bit of back-lighting, in which case I just hold it up to the right of the subject, out of shot. For most purposes I shoot in JPG format, and edit in Lightroom.
For daffodils, in order to get the correct shade of yellow, I shoot in RAW format, and use a standard grey shade card to act as a 'target neutral tone'. I then use that edit setting to adjust all the photos to the correct white balance as explained here:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&channel=iphone_bm&sxsrf=ACYBGNSj53kczO8Ff2eWdpn-CFghTTGHrA%3A1580820139172&source=hp&ei=q2Y5Xp3MB5zkgweBlrTICA&q=lightroom+change+white+balance+multiple+photos&oq=adjust+white+balance+multiple&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i22i30l2j0i333l3.1208.1208..3795...1.0..0.112.112.0j1......0....2j1..gws-wiz.cQIKZMXqX9A#kpvalbx=_r2Y5XqvkGeiV1fAP1NKN4A431 (https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&channel=iphone_bm&sxsrf=ACYBGNSj53kczO8Ff2eWdpn-CFghTTGHrA%3A1580820139172&source=hp&ei=q2Y5Xp3MB5zkgweBlrTICA&q=lightroom+change+white+balance+multiple+photos&oq=adjust+white+balance+multiple&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i22i30l2j0i333l3.1208.1208..3795...1.0..0.112.112.0j1......0....2j1..gws-wiz.cQIKZMXqX9A#kpvalbx=_r2Y5XqvkGeiV1fAP1NKN4A431)
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
I hope this helps!
Title: Re: Taking studio portraits of plants
Post by: ArnoldT on February 04, 2020, 04:15:56 PM: Anne:

Thanks it's a question I always wanted to ask.
Title: Re: Taking studio portraits of plants
Post by: annew on February 04, 2020, 04:20:31 PM: It's a bit Wallace and Gromit, but it works ;D
Title: Re: Taking studio portraits of plants
Post by: ArnoldT on February 04, 2020, 05:29:47 PM: Oh Anne:

My favorite.

Grand Day out
Wrong Trousers
Close Shave.

Not for kids only.
Title: Re: Taking studio portraits of plants
Post by: annew on February 04, 2020, 06:03:46 PM: I dub thee an honorary Yorkshireman... ;D ;D