I enjoy experimenting with shallow depth of field and soft focus, particularly with flowers where you can have the tip of one petal as the focus point, with everything else fading from focus from that point.
This time last year I had just started an online flower photography course with Sue Bishop, who takes the most beautiful flower photographs and has written books on the subject.
@ruthmouch Thank you Ruth, I alway sget excited when someone favs a shot of mine, and even more so when they ask how I did it, so double thanks. OK, to shoot this I did the following.
1. light from the left hand side with a bright light. I have a cheap lastolite. This was without a diffuser, but you can use one if you have harsh shadows and want to soften or get rid of them.
2. Works best with a macro lens to create ultra shallow dof. Open aperture to around f3.5 and shutter speed to 1/125. You may need someone or a plamp to hold the flower for you.
3. Shoot against a white background.
4. Focus on a petal as close to the front of the flower as possible, but not right at the front. Focus manually, not auto.
5. Manouevre yourself round the flower to get the best lighting effect. Take a few shots, look at them on your PC, so you can work out the best angles, focal point etc. After a while you see them very easily.
6. Because of 365 generally darkening your shot when you process, boost the saturation and lighten with levels or curves.
7. Convert to B+W and add a soft tint.
From shot to post, 30 minutes. Hope this helps. Thanks again.
@fannyb You are a sweetie. I am rather pleased with this too ;) Thank you for the fav, when I am pleased with a shot it always means so much more to me that others like it as well.
Instant Fav! Sean this is Stunning ..I love it and i would buy a copy of it! Sorry i havent commented much ..i was on a 2 week whirlwind of a vacation *( If that is what you want to call it)lol! Great to see you!
@ellimae Thank you Ellen, no need to buy a copy, I would happily email or Dropbox a copy for you. No apology necessary, i have struggled to comment all summer because of work and volunteering commitments. I am am delighted that you like it so much. As I said to Fanny above, I like it a lot too, and it thrills me when my friends on 365 love my shots as much as I do.
You're a bit clever Sean! This is really beautiful and thanks for sharing your 'how-to'. Is the soft focus look achieved particularly because of the ultra-shallow dof or the diffused lighting, or both? Oh and I have to fav this :-)
@tulipgirl Thank you Alicia, I just love photographing flowers and still life so much. The softness of focus with a macro lens is what has created the ultra shallow dof, the diffuser has created the soft light to add to the dof.Thanks ever so for the fav, it means so much when i have a shot that I like so much, to get the approval of my 365 friends.
@seanoneill if you get a breather from all of your work you can e-mail it to me at ellenyoungrmt@ consolidated.net! Thanks for the offer..and no rush! It will look great on my wall..i have one room that i just have all of my best flower shots and some of another friend of mine who is a photog also and they are of flowers also! Thanks for the generosity and sharing Sean! :)
Wow, wow, wow, amazing, beautiful shot Sean and fav for me too. Looks like you have your mojo back (not that I thought for a second that you had lost it - all your photos are fabulous)
@cathy366 Aww Cathy, you are very kind, and you've made me blush! Thanks for the fav, you can see from my other comments how much favs of this shot mean to me, so I am very grateful. Have taken today's shot, will be online later when I get home, Mojo maybe taking a little power nap today!
Oh this is just perfection, seriously perfection. Instant fav for me and honestly if I could I would fav it over and over. So soft and delicate. Thanks so much for sharing the link to Sue's work, she is just incredible and I am sure she would be thrilled to see the amazing work you do. Again beautiful capture. :)
@rachelmackenzie Thank you Rachel, that has brought a lump to my throat!! I appreciate the fav for the reasons above and I am glad that you like Sue's work. She is one of my photography heroes so it is great that others like her work too.
Seriously gorgeous! I love doing that with flowers too... but I think you know I have an obsession with shallow DOF lol. I did a shot of white flowers against white a while back, it's just so lovely that look :) Nice shot... really like yours a lot!
Congrats on the PP Sean, well deserved, such a classically beautiful shot. Am so pleased you are back with creative juices in full flow, and thanks for the explanation and link to Sue Bishop, I'm going to check her out!
@jackie8 Cheers Jackie, Sue does a monthly online course which I loved doing. Knowing that you love your flowers I think you would too, though at this time of the year you are rather restricted to florists for your ammo.
ooooh ! This is so beautiful Sean ! Absolutely adore it. Sorry I haven't been commenting much lately ... Quite busy with work etc .. But I'm very glad I saw this pic of yours. Definitely a fav !
@sabine Thank you Sabine, sometimes when I take shots I think that certain of my followers will like them. I had hoped you would like this, so am delighted that you do, and thank you so much for the fave :))
1. light from the left hand side with a bright light. I have a cheap lastolite. This was without a diffuser, but you can use one if you have harsh shadows and want to soften or get rid of them.
2. Works best with a macro lens to create ultra shallow dof. Open aperture to around f3.5 and shutter speed to 1/125. You may need someone or a plamp to hold the flower for you.
3. Shoot against a white background.
4. Focus on a petal as close to the front of the flower as possible, but not right at the front. Focus manually, not auto.
5. Manouevre yourself round the flower to get the best lighting effect. Take a few shots, look at them on your PC, so you can work out the best angles, focal point etc. After a while you see them very easily.
6. Because of 365 generally darkening your shot when you process, boost the saturation and lighten with levels or curves.
7. Convert to B+W and add a soft tint.
From shot to post, 30 minutes. Hope this helps. Thanks again.