Wednesday, 19 October 2011

An English rose

Subjects for photography have been in short supply recently, so, keen to shake off withdrawal symptoms I made use of one of a red rose from a recent bouquet for Carole to see whether I could do it justice.  The nights are drawing in now so making use of artifical light is something to get used to for the next few months, and learning how to control it is an important skill for a photographer.

An English rose, lit by two Canon speedlites
 Armed with two off-camera flashes, I spent some time trying different arrangements to get the effect I was looking for, but none are particularly satisfying - even trying to diffuse and bounce the light I've not been able to soften the shadows as I'd hoped.

Over the summer I bought a copy of the excellent Speedliter's Handbook from Amazon, but I need to find time for more evenings like tonight to really master what I'm doing!

Update 22/10

A softer version of the same rose lit by daylight through a window
The same rose lit by soft daylight through the dining room window produced a much more gentle effect without the harst shadows of my previous effort.  It would have been even better with a tripod, but it just shows that controlling the lighting is just as important as controlling the camera!