Pixiq

Many of the photographic challenges in lighting, composition, depth of field and distortion come from a simple fact - we are dealing with subjects that are 3D and trying to reduce them to 2D in our images. That is, of course, unless we are taking image pairs for stereoscopic viewing.

There have been project developments in some of the areas in which I work and I need to be able to take 3D macro shots on a regular, rather than experimental, basis. I also love extended depth of field and this ties in with image stacking, too. So, I got to musing on the how much I need to do in order to accentuate form in trying to give maximise the illusion of depth in a normal 2D images.

Perhaps most important of all is the choice of position from which to photograph a subject. For this I make no excuse for pointing experimenters towards orchid flowers. One reason for my abiding love of orchids is the complexity of the flowers which, with their obvious three-dimensionality, taught me both about positioning my camera and ways of lighting them  to emphasize the flower structure and its innate 'art'. The lessons learned can be used to advantage not just with other ‘exotic’ flowers such as Passifloras or Lilies but with a whole host of animal subjects, too.

Many orchids that are more or less flat can be photographed full-frontally to exploit their bilateral symmetry (ie they can be cut in half in just one way down a single line of symmetry whereas radially symmetric flowers such as daisies offer a multitude of ways).

Other orchid flowers will better reveal their intriguing appearance when photographed from a different angle. A useful starting point is to approach from around 30°- 45° to right or left and then photograph from above or below by roughly the same angle. It's just a start and, on the basis that variety is the spice of life then you must explore the possibilities of each flower. After a while you get to know what works and you position yourself instinctively.

With larger orchid flowers you can move in to emphasize pattern, design or structure by filling or part-filling the frame until the subject becomes an abstract

Careful control of depth of field is essential when some smaller orchids have flowers just a few mm in diameter and you are working in the macro realm with magnifications of life-size and larger on the sensor of the camera. You can experiment both with minimize depth of field for that ‘artsy’ look or maximize by using small apertures.

In the studio, in particular, image stacking with orchids produces astonishing results but if you use a single exposure then it is important to think about the way depth of field is distributed in the subject. When working in the close-up realm depth of field approximately equally either side of the point of sharpest focus. Sometimes it helps to use this in another way and decide on a point of interest which is then located that at the furthest reach of the depth of field you then have as much in focus in front of that as possible.

Here, you need to experiment with a depth of field preview button and take a few shots and look at them closely, zooming in on the LCD screen.

• Orchids are great subjects on which you can hone your photographic skills to make you a far better plant photographer -- get it right with orchids and many other flowers are easy!

• Given the choice, use natural light for close-ups of small orchids or a subtle mix of flash to light the subject blended with background light. With tropical orchids in nurseries or in botanical gardens there is often a mess of foliage behind and it helps to isolate the flower with a long focus macro lens..
• To come to grips with lighting try using three small desk lamps (the kind with halogen bulbs)- one becomes the main light another the fill and the third is used behind and to one side as the backlight/rim light. In this way you can emphasize tiny hairs growing on stems and also bring out the inherent translucency of the flowers and. 
• When you photograph plants growing in pots there is now a chance to experiment maybe using a black or white backgrounds to isolate blooms