Photography

[jpchandler207]

I am planning on buying a SLR digital camera, primarily so I can take good quality photos of my orchids. From those of you who are photographers, what makes the best background when taking good photos?
Thanks,
Joe

[Ray]

Black velvet, hung a fair distance behind the plant. It simply "eats" shadows.

[Arenalbotanicalgarden]

There used to be a site called Steve's digicams ??
Great stuff back in the day.Thanks to 32 GB of memory stick I can usually pull one or two off of mine that are acceptable. I use a Stylus Tough 8000 .....my neighborhood demands it.

[jpchandler207]

Excellent. Thanks.

[ronaldhanko]

I might add to what Ray said, that other colors of velvet also make nice backgrounds and make an interesting variation from black. I use a blue, a green and a dark wine red.

[Call_Me_Bob]

I agree with everyone else, velvet is what I have found to be the bet. I like a clean background for most things, do I would go with black if you have the Option. The one I use is actually dark Maroon, but if you light it correctly it comes out black.

If I don't use that, I usually se a clean white wall, and have the plant a good 2 feet away. Depending in how you light it, the background is either white or gray.

[BruceP]

I use one of those folding black presentation boards that you can find at CVS or Walmart. They store easily and don't gather lint. Depending on your lighting, you can get either a gray or black background.

[jpchandler207]

Fantastic, everyone. I knew I came to the right place.
Cheers all,
Joe

[tucker85]

I agree that velvet is the best but I had a hard time finding it and I wound up buying a black muslin background. It seems to work well. The trick is to have it far enough behind the orchid so it's out of focus.

[jpchandler207]

So, I got myself a Canon EOS Rebel T2i. I am learning how to used it slowly but here are a few of my first attempts. This is a lovely Cat-alliance orchid (Lc Dancing Fire Lc rojo x c. skinneri).
Oh, and the black background was an excellent suggestion.
Thank.
Joe