Photographing orchids.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by estación seca

For people wanting to move to a better camera, it might be a good idea to take some classes in photography before making the purchase, to have an idea of the variables involved. Many camera stores give classes.

Most of the inexpensive cameras sold in large stores are intended for face snapshots and landscape shots, and don't take very good flower photos.

Excellent advice. In fact, I've been working in photography for over 45 years and could still use such a class. One piece of advice I would give, though, is if you possibly can, splurge on an SLR. There's a ton more flexibility with them.

[Roberta]

Black hides a multitude of sins, shadows being the worst. Velvet, velour, or if you want a bit of texture, fleece. I use dark blue fleece when I have an especially dark flower, but then one does have to watch out for shadows. For any background, a camera that can focus (and meter) on a spot (rather than a larger area) is vital, especially for smaller flowers. That's the downfall of many inexpensive cameras (including all but the best phone cameras) If you want to purchase a camera, the lack of capability of selecting spot-focus and metering is a deal-breaker.

[Optimist]

Originally Posted by bethmarie

I've struggled with black backgrounds. I'm a total novice at photography, to understate the matter.
When I take a picture with a black background, my camera displays the symbol for too little light, and I don't know how to compensate for that. Is there an easy way?

Before digital cameras, you would put a white card in front of it. Maybe that will work. Do you use ISO/Aperture/F-stop settings or is it automatic? Focusing forward of the background to a lit orchid might work also if you do have those depth of field settings.