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Thread: Experimenting With Flower Lighting

  1. #1
    Scott Rosenberg's Avatar
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    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    good day...

    while the weather outside was frightful, i started playing around with some of my wife's orchids and lilies. i've never done any sort of indoor, table-top stuff before, so i thought this would be a fun way to experiment and learn something new.

    we had some can lights in the house... i think they're called accent lights. they are basically tubes, about 5 inches in diameter and 8 inches long. the tubes are affixed to a base, though they can swivel to change the angle of the light. they take 50 watt halogen bulbs. i know this isn't the proper light source, but it's what i had handy, and the 50w halogens seemed very bright and white, at least i thought so at the time.

    some of the shots actually came out pretty good... the velvia 100f had the best color, as e100vs and rvp both became too warm; displaying a distinct yellow-orange cast, i assume from my poor choice of lighting. white phalaenopsis and stargazer lilies were rendered yellow on all but the velvia 100f, even then the colors were still off.

    i enjoyed doing this so much that i'd like to work some more at it, this time with proper lighting. is there an inexpensive was to accomplish this? ie, can i just get different bulbs for the lights i have, or would i need to invest in some studio equipment? is it possible to use photography bulbs in ordinary lamps?

    thanks for any inputs,
    scott

  2. #2
    Octogenarian
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    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    Hi Scott,

    Since it's not a very good idea to subject live flowers (plants) to hot studio lights for any length of time. Perhaps you could use the 50W halogens for composing and focusing. Then, turn them off and use small electronic flash lighting for the final exposure. That would help to solve the problem of the color balance, as well as decreasing the heat build up from the halogen lights. For B&W photography, the effect of natural lighting from a North facing window, using large white reflective panels for fill, seems to look more natural than artificial lighting.

  3. #3
    Moderator Ralph Barker's Avatar
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    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    In my opinion, Scott, "proper lighting" is loosely defined, and the definition gets even more so when the word "inexpensive" gets added to the mix. ;-)

    I agree that electronic flash would be better-suited to the "daylight" balance of most color films - assuming you have to use artificial light. More expensive studio lighting simply adds more convenient exposure, greater control, and more versatility. But, with a little ingenuity, it is possible to keep it relatively inexpensive. You could, for example, use "inexpensive" battery-operated flash units designed for 35mm cameras, along with white foamcore reflectors to simulate a studio strobe in a softbox. You just won't get as much light out of the little flash, and might need to manually discharge the unit multiple times (in a darkened room) while the shutter is open in order to build up the exposure you need for LF-style aperture settings. A light meter that will take flash readings is almost essential here.

    If you don't already have a copy, I'd highly recommend the book, Light - Science & Magic, by Hunter and Fuqua (Focal Press, I believe). That book will help in understanding basic lighting techniques and the characteristics of various light sources. Then, you can go about figuring out how to achieve those effects in an economical manner. There are several things to keep in mind:

    1. the color temperature of the light source (critical for color, not an issue for B&W),

    2. the amount of light, and how that affects exposure techniques,

    3. the effective size of the light source, and the proximity to the subject - larger light sources produce "softer" light, while smaller ones produce more specular lighting and harder shadows. An electronic flash unit is effectively a "point light source", but when turned around and reflected off a panel it effectively becomes the size of the panel.

    4. the ability to see the effect of the lighting prior to exposure. Studio strobes have modeling lights for this purpose. If using portable, battery-operated flash units, you may want to set up incandescent bulbs to simulate modeling lights.

    5. well-stocked hardware and art stores abound in items that can be adapted to photographic lighting purposes.

    6. most importantly, have fun.

  4. #4
    Scott Rosenberg's Avatar
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    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    eugene...
    for fear of damaging the plants, or rather for fear of my wife, the lamps get turned off while composing and focusing. i turn them on only to shoot a polaroid and then to expose the film. this worked pretty well for me. your suggestion for small electronic flashes is a good one, but i don't own any and don't really want to invest in a lot of gear while i satisfy this curiosity of mine. i started using natural, ambient light from a large southern window in my kitchen. however, i found that using the lights made the process a lot simpler, as i had freedom of arrangement, didn't have to worry about the sun moving, and wasn't constantly fighting shadows created by the moulins in the glass. i've got some large white foam core boards that i use to mount photos on, i never thought to use them as reflectors. i think i'll do a little more playing around this weekend.

    ralph...
    thanks for all the tips. i think i'll head to the library this weekend and check out Hunter and Fuqua's book. seems like it would be an interesting read, if nothing else, for purely academic reasons. i did a little investigating on the color temp issue you raised, and found out that if i use a 5200K bulb, i should get reasonably close colors. there's a shop in town here that sells 250W 5200K bulbs that i can screw into my existing fixtures. i think that'll be my next attempt. as to your point #6, this is all fun for me. it's not a job, i have no deadlines, & nobody to appease but myself. i'm doing this for the sheer enjoyment of learning something new. if i get a couple of neat photos from it, even better.

    thanks again for all the tips, fellas. i think this weekend i'll experiment a little with the 5200K bulbs and the foam core boards as reflectors.

  5. #5

    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    Hi Scott,

    first, your lights are pretty much ok, your exposure is just longer because of not enough light sources. The problem you have, is the color temperature. And there is a need for filters. To be exact, blue filter called 80A + 82A as color conversion and color balancing filter. Film you are exposing is balanced to 5,500 K which is an average sunny day (not overcast day). Halogen Bulbs are different color temperature, around 3,000 K, so you have two options. Buy blue filter 80A and probably a little magenta like CC10M to correct fluorescency which shifts slightly to green and you score or you buy Tungsteen film and use tungsteen bulbs to shoot your flower again.

    I think second option is less costly and faster than first one.

    Peter Hruby.

  6. #6

    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    One more thing...

    if you use filters, 80A + 82A + CC10M = increase 1 1/3 stop in exposure to compensate.

    Peter.

  7. #7
    Scott Rosenberg's Avatar
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    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    hey peter... slapping a filter onto my lens seems to be the easiest solution while i'm learning. i think i'll start with an 80a filter and my existing lights and see where that takes me.

    you know, i never thought about it, but i keep a kr1.5 filter on the front of all of my lenses to protect them and add just a bit of warmth... that was only exacerbating the problem i was having! dunno why i didn't think to remove them!

    anyhow, thanks for the tips.

  8. #8
    MIke Sherck's Avatar
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    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    An associated question about which I am curious -- General Electric sells a bulb which they advertise as provinding more "natural" light. I assume that it puts out more blue, but I'm not sure about that. Seeing as how I shoot mostly B&W (and very rarely use artificial light,) it isn't a big deal for me but I wondered whether anyone else has had experience with them.

    Mike
    Politically, aerodynamically, and fashionably incorrect.

  9. #9

    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    Hi Scott.
    IMHO the best lighting for 'plant still life' is natural. For a number of years I have used studio window - ambient light with black & white reflectors. My equipment is Sinar P & Hasselblad FlexBody. This combination allows me to use the correct ext. and lens for the job in hand.
    However, I admit I often have to wait for the right conditions, which does not have to be bright sun.

  10. #10

    Experimenting With Flower Lighting

    Hi Scott,

    In that case, based on general reading on tungsteen-halogen lights, if you use 80A, increase exposure by 2/3 stop. Still, you will get a little orange cast in you picture. Generally, based on research on the internet, temperature is around 3000 K +/- 200 K, I believe you will get more accurate picture, but it depens on time when you shoot. If you shoot clearly in dark place, you will get slight orange cast. If you will shoot with daylight from window, you might even go to slight bluish cast, it depens on intensity of daylight regarding to your halogen lights. If you have a color meter, it would be the best to determine your filter set.

    80A is a good start, be careful if you use daylight as additive or primary source of light, you might go to color balancing filters 82 series instead of 80 Series. Without color meter is more like try/error technique (might be costly), but if you use only one source of light (just halogen lights) where you know their temperature, and you put appropriate filter set (I would still bracket with NO Magenta, CC05M, CC10M), you can get very nice picture.

    Also if you use different watts as additive sources of light, you might get a great tonality in your picture. Might be a very nice project you have.

    Peter Hruby.

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