TOP TIPS MUSHROOM PHOTOGRAPHY

Control your camera settings and flash for beautiful close ups of fungi

01 BRING A BEANBAG

You’ll be shooting low to the ground to capture fungi. A small beanbag like this comes in very handy to prop up your camera and keep it off the forest floor. A flip-out screen is also hugely useful for shooting at low angles, and waterproof trousers are ideal for kneeling down on damp ground.

02 CONTROL THE FLASH POWER

Setting the right flash power can take a little trial and error. Begin by working out a manual exposure without the flash. Set an aperture of f/8 at ISO100 and then adjust the shutter speed until things look dark. Next turn on the flash and use it to lift the subject. Here the flash is at 1/16 manual power.

03 COMPOSE WITH SPACE BEHIND

If you want to create a sense of depth, and blur out the background, find an angle with empty space beyond the subject. Shooting down the length of the fallen tree gives us space beyond the mushrooms. If we shot them straight on, it would be difficult to get the flash to the side and darken the backdrop.

04 CONTROL AMBIENT EXPOSURE

Your shutter speed has no influence on the flash, only on the ambient light. Here the left photo was shot at 1/40 sec, the right at 1/20 sec. Notice the subject stays similarly lit by the flash, but the ambient light in behind changes. So if you want a brighter or darker backdrop when using flash, tweak your shutter speed.

05 DRESS THE SCENE

When shooting close-ups, the tiniest distractions really stand out, so take the time to tidy any messy details, like stray strands of grass or flecks of mud. You might also want to ‘dress’ the scene. Here the red berries were scattered around the black Earth’s Tongue.

06 FINDING FUNGI

Fungi grows year round in all kinds of conditions. Most prefer dark, damp conditions, although some like open spaces like fields. Check decaying wood and inspect the forest floor. This yellow spindle coral fungi can be found in mossy lawns.