Which background do you prefer?

Images taken in a controlled environment or with a posed subject. All subject types.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

Nussknacker
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Location: Pretoria, South Africa

Post by Nussknacker »

MarkSturtevant wrote:I wonder if one could put a subject in front of a computer monitor that displays whatever background you choose. If that is well out of focus, one should not be able to see the pixels.
There is an app for Android which I use on my tablet. The name of the app is Softlight. You can dial in any of 16 million colours. The tablet is put behind your macro subject, but out of focus. The display is very nice on a 10" tablet, but could be done from a smaller screen as well. Some guys also use the tablet on bright as a diffuse lightsource.

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Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

And the built-in polarization of those panels can be very useful!

abpho
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Post by abpho »

Well done. Congratulations for making the picture of the month. =D>
I'm in Canada! Isn't that weird?

Stawroncs
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Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2017 6:15 am

Post by Stawroncs »

Beautiful! When I saw it on the front page, I thought it's something splashing at first glimpse. Really striking image! (the white one)

banania
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Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:01 am

Post by banania »

Both are very nice, but the one with white background is my favorite. Both are very well executed.

Another idea for backgrounds is to paint some with water colors. Taking this one step further the painted background can be combined with a mirror surface behind the subject. The painting can then be reflected through the mirror which helps to obtain the desirable degree distance and blurr. Also it is then easier to provide separate lighting for the background. This is useful if the "studiosetting" does not have much space. The mirror can also be sprayed with water, for example, creating maybe bokeh on top of the painted background etc...


Henri

Joco
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Post by Joco »

Amazing imagery. The white is my fav.

pontop
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Post by pontop »

Congratulations on making the front page. It is indeed a beautyful picture - very well done.
The picture on the front page has been turned 90 degrees. That is a pity - it looks wrong.

abpho
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Post by abpho »

Both backgrounds work here. It just depends what look you are going for. I try to pick a color that compliments the subject. And most of the time the final result is a surprise anyways. ;)
I'm in Canada! Isn't that weird?

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

pontop wrote:The picture on the front page has been turned 90 degrees. That is a pity - it looks wrong.
Thank you for raising this issue.

As it happens, I discussed a potential rotation with the photographer before doing it, because on this forum we're pretty obsessive about not misrepresenting the subject.

His reply was that "When the the leaves are fully matured their initial position is vertical like in the original image. As they get older the leaves start to move down horizontally. I'm [sending by email] an image to give you an idea of the overall form of the plant." In the image that he sent, the specimen has roughly 20 leaves still in good condition, in the orientation shown on our front page: horizontal, concave upward. Many of them are drooped even farther than the position shown on the front page.

I'm have very little experience with sundews, so I have no idea how much variation there is between one plant and another. But I'm quite comfortable saying that the orientation shown on the front page does not misrepresent the individual that I was shown as reference.

In the Administrators Appreciation Gallery entry, the image is preserved in its original orientation, accompanied by the explanation that "For the front page at http://photomacrography.net, the image was rotated to fit the page format better. The revised orientation still accurately reflects the plant in life, as these parts tip downward as they age."

--Rik

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