Apogee Photo Magazine: GET INTIMATE WITH YOUR SUBJECT

Apogee Photo Magazine

GET INTIMATE WITH YOUR SUBJECT

By Noella Ballenger

Geraniums in a pot. Remember the goal is to capture an “intimate” feeling in the image. I want you to look at my image and say, “I wish I had a flower pot as pretty as that one.”

I love the spring, and I enjoy watching roses and other flowers. During winter--even in sunny Southern California--there are times when the dark, gray days begin to bother me. I long to photograph the brilliant colors of a garden. It is at times like these that I treat myself to a big, beautiful bouquet and go to work taking pictures in my kitchen. Sometimes you have to be creative.

I’m lucky enough to have a kitchen that’s flooded with plenty of light during the morning hours, so I can place a small table near the sliding glass door, and it’s almost as good as being outside. I often bring a ladder in from the garage. One of my favorite images was taken on a ladder using pink wrapping paper out-of-focus in the background and reflected light from the white refrigerator as fill light. It was great fun, and it resulted in a really successful image (see “Tulip Bottoms”).

Getting “intimate” with the blossoms you have in your winter bouquet may be as simple as focusing on the edge of a petal or the center of a blossom and eliminating all of the surrounding area. You can also photograph the entire bouquet using the same close feeling.

Let’s talk about practical ways to see and feel the joy of getting close to flowers. Feeling is what this sort of photography is all about. You’re interpreting what you feel and think about the subject. One of the reasons I love roses and have so many is that they smell delicious. In my yard, I have a saying, “…If they don’t stink, they don’t stay!” For me, the intimacy of the flower is tied up in its beautiful aromas. When I try to photograph flowers, I want to share those feelings with the viewers. I ask them to come close and catch the delicate fragrance. Each petal that is so soft and velvety beckons to the viewer to come and partake of its essence.

In this close-up of an hydrangea flower cluster, notice the centers and get the feeling of how those little blossoms are pushed together. The feeling I have about this one is that the blossoms were like little children all saying, “Look at me! Look at me!”

When we think of flower photography, we often think of macro lenses. But, in practical terms, not everyone can afford a macro lens. So, let’s work with the lenses we have and try to pull intimacy into the image. Remember, it isn’t always necessary to have the “perfect” lens or to move so close that you can count the fuzzy hairs or bumps on a leaf. Think about your goal, your vision, and use what you have to express your feelings. For example, my all-time favorite lens for flower photography is my Canon 100-300mm zoom lens. (My favorite used to be my Nikon 500mm mirror lens). I sometimes add a couple of attachments like a tube and/or tele-extender. Admittedly, I love my macro lens, as well, but I can do wonderfully intimate portraits with either one. So, if the right lens or equipment is holding you back, let me show you techniques and some less expensive equipment that you may want to acquire to work around those limitations.

First, when I talk about “macro” photography, I’m talking about a non-scientific requirement. If we needed to measure a size relationship exactly, we would need the proper equipment to do a proper job. But when we talk about feelings and intimacy, we can use almost any lens to make the viewer see what we want to show him.

Consider my 100-300mm zoom lens, as an example. It has a specific minimum distance at which it will focus. Select a telephoto lens and find the closest focus spot with that lens. Take out a tape measure and measure the distance. That is the distance you need to stand away from the object you’re photographing to have it appear in focus. I like to use telephoto lenses, because the nature of a telephoto lens limits the depth-of-field to a very narrow focal band front to back and compresses distances. One of the ways to create intimacy and control the viewer is to make the focal point very selective and allow the depth-of-field to be very shallow. Your viewer’s eye will go to the spot that’s in focus. No matter how hard you try to move away from the point of focus, if you have limited the depth of field, the viewer will always return to that point. Examine the image called “Yellow Flower Center.” There’s only one spot on the film that’s in focus, and your eye returns to that exact location repeatedly.

Marigolds are bright and colorful. This was photographed outside on a gray day. A gray day is great for making colors seem more vivid. You don’t have problems with overly bright sun areas and shade areas making the contrast in the image difficult.

Here are some other ideas and equipment suggestions to help you achieve a macro feeling and intimacy in your images. (These were taken from my workbook, Nature by Design, available on my Website at http://www.noellaballenger.com.) Other equipment is not always necessary, but it can be helpful in getting closer to your subject. (As with all of my equipment, I try to get the “best” glass I can afford.)

1. A tube: This is a simple spacer (no glass in it) that goes between your camera and lens. It lets you capture a larger image. The drawback is you lose light, because the light has a greater distance to travel to the film. Tubes usually cost somewhere between $50 - $100.

2. Tele-converters (1.4x or 2x): These lenses are most frequently used as “binoculars,” allowing a 100 mm lens to become a 200mm with a 2x teleconverter. Again, you’ve moved the lens away from the camera, so there is a loss of light. Tele-converters can cost up to several hundred dollars.

3. Close focusing lenses: The effect of these is like putting a small magnifying filter on the front of your lens. There’s no loss of light, because it doesn’t come between the camera and the lens. They come in different strengths. Nikon offers excellent ones for about $40.00 each. They are my least favorite equipment to use, but they do work.

A special note here on equipment: Even though manufacturers don’t recommend using any of these items in combination with the others, sometimes--just for fun--I put them all on. It’s a wild combination, but you can achieve great and fun results that probably aren’t what you expected.

When I set up in my kitchen, I use a tripod, turn off any lights, and allow natural light and reflectors to become the light source.

Chrysanthemums are great winter flowers. This was photographed in the kitchen. If you look carefully at the background, you might notice it’s a floral print pillowcase. You have to be creative and use the materials at hand.

Here are some other tips to make your flower experience successful:

1. With depth-of-field at a minimum in close-up photography, attempt to keep the film plane parallel to the subject. This technique will give you a greater opportunity to have the entire subject appear to be in focus. Also, it gets you down to the same level as the flower, a much friendlier angle from which to photograph.

2. Using through-the-lens metering keeps complications at a minimum. (That is one of the reasons you purchased a good camera.)

3. Set your focus manually at the closest focus and move your body. When you’re using a tripod, a focusing rail is a good addition. It will allow you to make tiny adjustments without moving the tripod. Get the one that adjusts side-to-side as well as front-to-back.

4. Just because you’re working closer, don’t discard all of the good exposure and composition techniques you know. They’ll work up close, too.

5. One shot won’t tell the entire story. Take more than one to show different perspectives and to tell different stories about the subject. Be experimental.

Flowers are easy to feel “intimate” with. You can get close; you can use a variety of senses such as touch and smell to tap into your own feelings about the image. And keep in mind that bringing your feelings about the subject matter into the image will carry over to all subject areas. So, if you can’t get out to your garden during these winter months, do something to bring your garden inside. Feel the feelings, smell the aromas, enjoy the touch--and then translate all of that into an image that will captivate your viewer.

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If you liked this article, please check out the following articles by Noella Ballenger for even more tips.

Ten Tips for Great Gardening Photos

Flower Photography

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Noella Ballenger teaches photography workshops in a number of western U.S. locations--including Bodie, California. Joining her Bodie/Eastern Sierra workshop this October will allow workshop participants to enter the buildings to photograph artifacts left by the early pioneers and miners--a privilege regular park visitors do not have. Please check her Website www.noellaballenger.com for her workshop schedule. You can also e-mail her for additional information on her workshops.