A few images !

Shooting in macro mode, techniques, tips & tricks
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JPS
Posts: 21
Joined: 11.12.2007 12:40
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Contact:

A few images !

Post by JPS »

Some images that i have done lately, using Helicon Focus !

Nikon D200 + Tamron SP90 - 1:250 @ f8 with flash - 7 shots
Image

Nikon D200 + Tamron SP90 - 1:250 @ f8 with flash - 15 shots
Image

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 55mm. f/2.8 Ais - 1:250 @ f8 with flash - 18 shots
Length of the bench: 1.70 m. / 63 inches
Image

100%crop of previous
Image

100% crop of previous
Image

I'm VERY hapy with this program... pity it's a bit expensive, though :wink: !
Cheers,
J-P.
paddler
Posts: 16
Joined: 18.04.2008 00:30

a few images.

Post by paddler »

Those are beautiful images. Do you use a focusing rail or the lens focus ring? What sort of flash do you use and at what setting?
JPS
Posts: 21
Joined: 11.12.2007 12:40
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Contact:

Post by JPS »

Hi ! Thanks for commenting...

I tried to use both systems -locked focus and moving camera on rail vs camera still and rotating the focus ring- and choose to keep the camera on tripod and rotate the focus ring !

For the iris, the lighting was a 100W Elinchrom into a 24x24" (60x60 cm.) softbox on the left, a white foamcore reflector on the right and a ringflash -at minimum power- on the lens. The background is a piece of black velvet.

For the lathe, the lighting was simply a 100W Elinchrom into a 24x24" (60x60 cm.) softbox, at 45 degrees to the ceiling (to avoid parasitic shadows). Camera was a Nikon D200 with a Tamron SP90.

Hope this helps ?

Cheers,
J-P.
paddler
Posts: 16
Joined: 18.04.2008 00:30

Post by paddler »

Excellent. Thank you for the information J-P, I appreciate it. I'm just getting started myself and find I'm having a great deal of trouble acclimating to the fine adjustments needed to the focus ring on a lens to get the necessary slices in any kind of even distribution of focus but the issue of perspective with a focus ring is one to consider also. I'm sure loving playing with the possibilities of this though.

Your images are fabulous.
JPS
Posts: 21
Joined: 11.12.2007 12:40
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Contact:

Post by JPS »

Hi ! Not to worry too much... if you're shooting at f/8 (or so), rotating the focussing ring one millimeter at a time will give you more than needed security to get your entire depth of field covered sharply !

Cheers,
J-P.
okie

JPS' flower shot with strobe

Post by okie »

Very impressive flower shots, JPS. Outstanding "glow" to the petals. Is there much post-processing involved with these images, or is it "straight from the camera?" I've been doing similar work... but outside. Even at the crack of dawn there's often a breeze, as gentle as it may be.

One tip worth sharing with flower shots: find a "Mister" type of pump-up canister and give the petals and greens a very light touch of water droplets - similar in size (tiny) to morning dew. Water "sprayers" per se, do not work well, it is the misting type that delivers top-notch results. (I have one in my kitchen used for bread baking).

An aside: when have you found it "best" to apply sharpening? "By the rules" we always do it last in PhotoShop... but when using Helicon Focus software I haven't arrived at a definitive answer - sharpen first, then run through HF... or sharpen the outputted HF image. (In all instances my Canon 5D camera is adjusted to apply zero "in-camera" sharpening.
JPS
Posts: 21
Joined: 11.12.2007 12:40
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Contact:

Re: JPS' flower shot with strobe

Post by JPS »

okie wrote:Very impressive flower shots, JPS. Outstanding "glow" to the petals. Is there much post-processing involved with these images, or is it "straight from the camera?" I've been doing similar work... but outside. Even at the crack of dawn there's often a breeze, as gentle as it may be.

One tip worth sharing with flower shots: find a "Mister" type of pump-up canister and give the petals and greens a very light touch of water droplets - similar in size (tiny) to morning dew. Water "sprayers" per se, do not work well, it is the misting type that delivers top-notch results. (I have one in my kitchen used for bread baking).

An aside: when have you found it "best" to apply sharpening? "By the rules" we always do it last in PhotoShop... but when using Helicon Focus software I haven't arrived at a definitive answer - sharpen first, then run through HF... or sharpen the outputted HF image. (In all instances my Canon 5D camera is adjusted to apply zero "in-camera" sharpening.
Hi and thanks for commenting !

As for applying some "dew" on the petals, i didn't think of it, although it's a trick i often use...

Now, about the sharpening, as long as i remember, i loaded the original RAW images into Helicon Focus, so no post-processing AT ALL was applied before... and i also allways use the "zero in-camera" settings !

Of course, the image rendered by Helicon Focus has been post-processed as usual, with a final sharpening, then resizing for Web, and finally one more slight sharpening !

Cheers,
J-P.
Guest

Re: JPS' flower shot with strobe

Post by Guest »

[quote="JPS
Now, about the sharpening, as long as i remember, i loaded the original RAW images into Helicon Focus, so no post-processing AT ALL was applied before... and i also allways use the "zero in-camera" settings !

Of course, the image rendered by Helicon Focus has been post-processed as usual, with a final sharpening, then resizing for Web, and finally one more slight sharpening !
J-P.[/quote]

My experience has been similar, that sharpening and then a bit more seems to produce excellent imagery. Frankly, amazes me how much post-processing sharpening the Helicon image can handle, far more than a file directly out of the camera.

An aside: seeing your strobe images inspired me to try the same instead of always working outdoors (USA, Florida, where it comfortable to work outside year-round). Literally even cut the iris flower I initially photographed (in layers) outdoors, then brought it into the studio: a 24"x36" softbox and a reflector on the opposite side, but without any ring flash from the camera. Remarkable results! Particularly when applying a black backdrop... sample about a dozen different backgrounds and came back to "black is best." And what a delight to shoot indoors without wind or light-change factors... I thought I was in heaven. (Camera is directly tied to a computer using Breeze's DSLR Remote Pro software - instant gratification!).
Your ideas and input was very helpful, J-P. Thank you.
JPS
Posts: 21
Joined: 11.12.2007 12:40
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Contact:

Post by JPS »

Hi "guest" !

Pleased to know that you found another way of shooting flowers... Right: it's not as "fair" as shooting them "in the wild", but -at least here in Switzerland- so much more practical :wink: !

Let see YOUR results, then...

Cheers,
J-P.
peteschick
Posts: 8
Joined: 10.02.2009 22:14

focus ring

Post by peteschick »

Can someone tell me what a focus ring is?
Could I use it on a Canon xsi 450D?
Thanks
Guest

Re: focus ring

Post by Guest »

peteschick wrote:Can someone tell me what a focus ring is?
Could I use it on a Canon xsi 450D?
Thanks
Maybe I misspelled it !?! The "focus ring" that I refer to is the FOCUSSING RING on the lens, that allow you -mainly on an SLR/DSLR camera- to focus on your subject: I guess one might also call it DISTANCE RING !?!

Got it ?

Cheers,
J-P.
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