Canon Powershot G12 |
| Photographing Flowers Using multiple Exposures With the Nikon D300 Posted: 14 Mar 2011 05:03 PM PDT Some Dslr cameras now offer many exposure modes. These include the Nikon D3, D300, D2H, D2x, D200, and D80, the Pentax K10D, and *istD, Pentax Optio 550, and the Fujifilm Fine Pix S5, S3, S2, and S1. This may not be a faultless list so check your camera hand-operated to see if your camera has this option. While you can couple many captures using layers in Photoshop and other imaging software, there a several advantages to being able to couple exposures in camera as you are able to do with film. The Nikon D300 uses raw data from the camera’s sensor and can couple the information/data from up to 10 exposures into one file. This eliminates the need to work with the layer opacity and blending mode of many files and provides smoother image integration with less effort. By using the auto gain function there is no need to adjust personel exposures after setting the introductory aperture and shutter speed. Canon Powershot G12While it is possible to use a fixed focal length macro lens when capturing many images, a zoom “macro” lens provides the advantage of not having to adjust the camera or flower position with each successive exposure. For these photographs I used a Tamron 28-300mm Af Aspherical Xr Di Ld (If) 1:3.5-6.3 Macro lens. While not a true macro lens it does provides a 1:3 pregnancy ratio. One of the key ingredients of successful many exposure photography is choosing a branch that lends itself to this process. Flowers contribute a range of shapes, tones, and contrasts that blend well in the final image. These attributes conduce to the unique photographs produced when employing many exposures. By employing the techniques discussed in this description you can accomplish a luminosity and transparency that surpasses particular exposure flower photography. Setting a practice white equilibrium (Wb) is preferable to allowing the camera’s auto Wb to determine the color temperature. By shooting in Raw format you can also adjust the Wb after exposure to complement each image. If you experiment with Wb settings you may accomplish hue variations that will improve the photograph. A dark background provides a nice disagreement to lighter colored flowers and also blends well with successive exposures. I use black seamless paper for most of the white, yellow, and pink flowers. It is a good idea to check the introductory and final proposed zoom settings to see the proportion of flower and background in the frame. A technique that I like to use is to begin at the shortest focal length where a large estimate of background is in the frame and then moderately adjust focal length with each exposure. Each successive zoom setting changes the focal length until reaching the maximum extension. If we use the 28-300mm zoom as an example the total turn from shortest to longest focal length is 272mm. Let’s assume that we will description 10 exposures. Our first exposure will be at 28mm and our last at 300mm so that leaves 8 exposures in which to divide our range. Using a miniature approximation for ease of focal length positioning, this calculates to settings of 28, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, and 300mm for the 10 exposures. Sometimes rather than bind to definite divisions I just look through the lens and adjust the zoom according to what appears to look good to me as I description each exposure. You can also begin at the closest zoom setting with the flower filling the frame and then moderately zoom out. It is foremost when using this technique to begin with camera quite close to the flower. In the case of the Tamron 28-300mm lens, the shortest length that lens can focus to is practically 19 inches. The zoom is then adjusted in successive increments such that at the final exposure the flower nearly fills the frame with just a miniature of the background showing. The final image produced using many exposures is often difficult to visualize. One of the advantages of digital is the quality to relate the photo immediately after capture and make any adjustments to camera and flower positioning. Lighting is just as foremost in many exposure photography as it is in particular exposure photography. I am fortunate to have a skylight that provides a diffused light source to the flowers. If it is principal to use strobes I would advise using umbrellas or a soft box to reserve the textural details of the flowers. Because of the length of time needed to take many exposures in the manner described above, it is principal to control positioning of the flower, camera, lighting, and background. Because when I start I don’t know exactly how long I will be photographing an personel flower, I like to use fresh water ready with some plant food which most flower market will give you for free when you purchase the flowers. If the photo session stretches into several days as you come up with new ideas you will be thankful you provided the flower with some nourishment! I begin by leveling the outside upon which the flower will be placed. It is a good idea to start with a fairly long stem on the flower and to place the flower in a vase which provides a carport support. By leaving a long stem you can photo the flower from below which provides a unique perspective that I have seldom seen in flower photography as most population couple on the petals, pistil, and stamen from either the top or side. With the flower supported and on a level outside you can rotate the vase to accomplish any angle that you wish. As the flower is rotated the illumination on the petals changes as well as the position relative to the camera lens. Many dissimilar shapes and contrasts can be obtained by employing this technique and often a very abstract pattern can succeed that can be quite appealing. By rotating the flower about a singe point a spiral succeed can be achieved. The use of a tripod is very recommended to stabilize the camera. I would also advise using mirror lockup/exposure delay and a remote shutter issue or self timer. Position the tripod at the height for the first photo and level the camera. It is also a good idea to position the angle of the camera lens parallel to the plane of the flower, and if maximum depth of field is desired to adjust the aperture to f/16 or f/22. Ordinarily I photo in aperture priority mode. I hope that these suggestions and guidelines contribute a good beginning point for your exploration of many exposure photography. Photographing Flowers Using multiple Exposures With the Nikon D300 See Also : Pentax K-5 |
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