The following are some macro shots I was playing around with. I was shooting and exploring trying to get some different lighting perspectives going with regards to macro photography. Most images were shot using an off camera flash attached with a ttl cord to add some unique lighting. I used that in conjunction with the location of the sun to try and get some fun and different lighting angles.
This particular flower I had the flash positioned all the way over on the far left and low to add some depth and shadows to really define the petals.
I like the converging lines on this one with the purple buds and the purple flowers in the background. Converging lines sometimes goes against the rules but let’s be honest it’s fun to break the rules. The late setting sun was falling nicely on the background. I used some off camera fill flash from the upper left to give the foreground buds some POP.
Most of the time fill flash is used to illuminate what is in front of the lens. On this particular day I was looking for different ideas and lighting that was not your standard “Macro”. With this thought process in mind I placed the flash on the ground behind and aiming up at this flower, which gave is some nice backlight and really made the cob webs stand out.
The low setting sun was almost directly behind this patch. Which really allowed the spiky/fuzzy (whatever they’re called) elements on the stems to stand out. Now in this situation using no flash would have resulted in a dark colorless shadows of the stems and flowers. With the ability to use flash as fill light it allowed the colors on the stems and flowers to really stand out as well as using the backlight to create the texture.
Great pics man! Would really appreciate a little technical detail to go along with them!!
All images were shot with a Nikon D300, 105mm f/2.8 micro lens and an SB800 flash.
The first image of the orange flower stats are: Shutter speed 1/60 at f/16, ISO 640.
The second image of the purple buds: 1/200 at f/10, ISO 640.
The third image of the yellow flower: 1/160 at f/10, ISO 640.
The fourth image of the fuzzy buds: 1/60 at f16, ISO 640.
All shots were handheld.
Thanks!
Hi Jonathan – I just looked at your flower pics and gasped ! They are so beautiful – crisp, colorful, and compelling .
Great pics! All the photos are great and powerful! So…you’re the man!
I love these pictures, Its really really good..
Amarjit Singh Kullar
Thank you for these great photos. I have been slacking on my macro and I tend to avoid artificial light but have been thinking a lot lately about learning to use flash more even outdoors . This spread made me want to do that even more. I’ll be back to enjoy more of your blog.
Good job with a Nikon –> I prefer Canon 🙂
But I like the colors and the sharpness of the Flowers. Good Job