Paph on 2 diff. backrounds

[Ray]

It was just a white card. The setup was roughly like this - but play with the distances.

[camille1585]

I also use a black background for all my orchid photos, dark flowers included. I had played around with white and dark gray backgrounds, but have stuck with black so far. A well exposed dark flower on a black background still seems more appealing to me.

Back during my cashless student days I developed a flashless setup for my photos, (couldn't afford them) but it works well enough that I've stuck with it. Backdrop is set up next to a bright window (but no direct sun) with a sheer curtain to diffuse the light. The orchid is about 1m from the backdrop, and on the right side I place a piece of cardboard covered in crinkled foil to reflect light from the window to the right of the plant.

I don't have many photos of dark flowers, but attached is an example of what I achieve with my setup.

[Nico]

Amazing!

[yug]

On the lighter background, since it has similar color to the subject, I wonder if it takes away from the orchid. I'm thinking that a different color background may make it 'pop' more.

[katsucats]

Old thread, but high contrast over dark backgrounds (although not completely black in my opinion) might be visually appealing, but it's pretty uninformative. I couldn't tell whether natural lighting is used, or by what reference point should I interpret the photos, especially for solid backgrounds (like black). I'm just going to assume that the colors are boosted and the orchid actually looks nothing like the picture. That deep burgundy or indigo blue is probably a light pink or baby blue. I understand it's possible to Photoshop photos regardless of background, but black backgrounds practically scream out to me "I'm Photoshopped!" regardless of whether it is. And even if it isn't, I can't tell whether it's a sunny day outside or you're using fluorescent lighting, which would influence the color of the orchid.

[Roberta]

I use a black velour background because it sets off the color of most orchids quite nicely, and also hides shadows from my lighting. It's the shadows that are the killer as far as other colors of background are concerned. I'll fight it for the occasional really dark flower, but otherwise, I take the path of least resistance.