Re: Photographing irises
- To: i*@rt66.com
- Subject: Re: Photographing irises
- From: t*@lanl.gov (Tom Tadfor Little)
- Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1996 10:50:01 -0600
I'm no great photographer, but I get pictures that are adequate for
my records, publication on the web, and occasionally in society
publications. In my experience, the single most important bit of
advice is to avoid harsh light. Take the photos when there are
no shadows--a day that's cloudy but not dark is ideal. You can also
get dramatic shots when the flower is illuminated but the background
is in shadow, but these are trickier.
I confess to using mostly 200-speed film. Yes, the resolution is not
quite as good as with the slower film, but it gives a little extra
leeway in photographing with less light--good for snapping hostas
and other shade plants!
Another rather basic thing I haven't seen discussed yet is to use
the right aperture to keep all the flower parts in focus but throw
the background well out of focus: typically f/4 or thereabouts with
my camera.
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Tom Tadfor Little tlittle@lanl.gov -or- telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Telperion Productions http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
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