Tulip under lights

[Curtis Cunningham]

I'm trying some shots of my wife's flowers under my studio lights. Here's the best one I've got thus far.

I'm curious as to what I could do to improve the shot. My lights are still setup in the configuration I used to get this image, so any changes will be easy to make.

[DierkHaasis]

Try the main light as going through the petals instead of being reflected. Brings out structure and colour much better.

I'd also go in much closer and focus on the stamen. The trouble with overview shots of tulpis is the very long stem leading to composition/format trouble.



A slightly different set up example [not focussing on the stamen] can be found here.

[Curtis Cunningham]

Originally Posted by DierkHaasis

Try the main light as going through the petals instead of being reflected. Brings out structure and colour much better

...going through from the front or the back?

[Noel_Carboni]

I like the composition. Just complex enough yet still simple, and the petal on the top of the vase is a nice touch.

It depends on whether you want a low key or high key image, of course, but I might try experimenting also with a dark background.

And as Dierk said, perhaps moving a light around back to illuminate the petals from behind.

An image like this - i.e., still life - wants to be very sharp and noise-free. Every part of it should feel like eye candy.

You're off to a good start.

-Noel

[DierkHaasis]

Thought I forgot something: from the back.

[Curtis Cunningham]

Originally Posted by Noel_Carboni

and the petal on the top of the vase is a nice touch.

Thanks. That was a "happy accident". It just fell down on it's own.

The flower in question is now past its prime, so I'll hopefully be able to experiment more this coming week on some new (different?) ones and post the results here.

[Noel_Carboni]

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with Curtis.

Thanks for posting here in the Critique section... It's good to have some fun with the camera.

-Noel