Bc. Kosh Wallis 'Paradise'

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Ooo! Beautiful!

thanks sonya!!

[Picotee]

Nice studio setup. I use white foamboard, also, usually under a skylight or on my balcony for natural lighting. I find white backgrounds really show off a plant well, though perhaps not as dramatic as black backgrounds do. I recently divided my BC Kosh Wallis also, and am considering redoing the one in a basket which doesn't look happy. Congrats on yours.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by Picotee

Nice studio setup. I use white foamboard, also, usually under a skylight or on my balcony for natural lighting. I find white backgrounds really show off a plant well, though perhaps not as dramatic as black backgrounds do. I recently divided my BC Kosh Wallis also, and am considering redoing the one in a basket which doesn't look happy. Congrats on yours.

Thanks! It really depends on. The plant what background to use. If its white or really like, it would blend in to a white background. So I usually decide depending on which would look best for a certain flower.

[Picotee]

Originally Posted by Call_Me_Bob

Thanks! It really depends on. The plant what background to use. If its white or really like, it would blend in to a white background. So I usually decide depending on which would look best for a certain flower.

I completely agree. I usually go for a darker background if the plant is white or very light. I have several background colors but I find myself using white, black and shades of grey most often.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by Picotee

I completely agree. I usually go for a darker background if the plant is white or very light. I have several background colors but I find myself using white, black and shades of grey most often.

im too cheap to have actually gotten "real" backdrops for flowers and small things. i have some for portraits and when i take headshots, etc. but im too lazy to set up a large backdrop for a small plant, lol. the only ones i have are white matte board and some dark maroon velvet. the velvet if i light it correctly comes out black. and the white matte board, depending on how i light i, can be white or many different shades of gray, with or without a gradient.

you should post a photo of your typical setup next time!

Nice setup! I usually use black background to shoot flowers or natural green grass when it is summer, but the white looks much "cleaner".
I will try your setup for white back.
BTW, I use Nikon too.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by orchideya

Nice setup! I usually use black background to shoot flowers or natural green grass when it is summer, but the white looks much "cleaner".
I will try your setup for white back.
BTW, I use Nikon too.

ive never tried using green, i may have to! i like the white for the purity and cleanliness it adds to the photogrpaph.

go for it! if you dotn have an umbrella you can just bounce a speedlight off the ceiling or a wall. with a white background its really flexible to light, black i find to be more difficult.

what setup do you shoot with?

I use Nikon D7000 with 60MM/2.8D AF macro lens.
I usually put my plant on black Ikea coffee table and it creates black background without much fuss.
I dream about studio with backdrops and lights and umbrellas, but that's in some future since I just made a rather large purchase of orchdarium for my phals.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by orchideya

I use Nikon D7000 with 60MM/2.8D AF macro lens.
I usually put my plant on black Ikea coffee table and it creates black background without much fuss.
I dream about studio with backdrops and lights and umbrellas, but that's in some future since I just made a rather large purchase of orchdarium for my phals.

im jealous for sure! the D7000 is a great camera, and so it that lens! do you have any speedlights?

gotcha, very nice. have any samples we could see?

haha so do i! but that will have to wait until later because i have car insurance and gas to pay for. then ill be in college in a year and a half, so portability is the key! i only have an sb600 and an ubrella/lightstand. used creatively with walls and boards to bounce the light around, i can get some very nicely lit shots that look like more than 1 speedlight was used!

I have Nikon SB-600 and tripod, but rarely use all of this since don't have a proper place for the setup and am to lazy to run around with all the equipment.

So I just use F8, put the plant against dark furniture and use default flash. Most of the time I get heavy shadows that I don't like. Sometimes it looks not too bad.
Here is the example of such "setup":



Here is the mounting wood piece as a backdrop:




And this is (you wouldn't believe) the stainless backsplash - the plant is actually standing on a cooktop: