Make a memorable portrait of a flower
AFTER a bite to eat, we decided that the afternoon’s focus would be flowers.
After collecting a selection of blooms from a local florist, JC and Mrs B once again began the session with black Perspex, using a spray bottle to add water droplets to its surface and the petals of the flowers. The couple hit upon the idea of using the LED panels as a compositional device, using the reflection of the lights in the glossy surface of the perspex to frame their first choice of subject, a sunflower.
The idea developed and, switching out the black Perspex for a sheet in red, JC and Mrs B opted to use the circular reflection of an angle-poise lamp as the framing device. The clean pool of light from the lamp reflection contrasted beautifully with the spikier blooms.
JC and Mrs B continued to experiment, switching to tight close-ups of water drops on petals, using a carefully positioned light to add the shadow of one flower to the portrait of another, and shooting backlit petals.
WHEN it came to the flower session, Chris opted to keep things clean and elegant – compositionally speaking, at least.
What this image doesn’t show is the clamp holding the Perspex in place; the duct tape supporting the stem; a 60-Watt angle-poise lamp backlighting the Perspex; a Rotolight RL-48D LED ringlight supported on the arm of a three-way tripod head to the left of the shot; and another LED panel balanced on a box to act as an uplight.
Chris tried shooting a selection of this blooms using this technique, but the splash of yellow and the simple yet refined structure of this particular stem fitted the concept beautifully.
After working this set-up, Chris laid the Perspex flat and switched to shooting a sequence of close-ups of a rose lying on its surface. For the lighting, he opted for one LED panel positioned to the front and just off to the right of the flower. This added a crisp, contrasty look that lifted the shot from the more familiiar soft and evenly lit rose portraits.