New to board and G3, advice on shooting flowers close up

[Selmorott]

Hi all,

I have had my G3 for about a year, and am still finding my way with it. I think it will take me a while to master! I got the teleconverter and the wide angle lens with the camera as well as the 220 ex flash (all of which I haven't used yet). I will be buying a tripod soon.

I have been asked to take some close up shots of flowers, I have used the macro setting on auto and I get some good shots with this, but was wondering if there is a better setting to use macro on? I should be able to get quite close to the flowers so I don't think I'll need a lens. Also would you recommend the use of filters for this? Or for the G3 in general?

Sorry for all the stupid questions, I don't have much of a clue when it comes to this camera (or photography in general), but very willing to learn.

Thanks
Selmorott

[sdommin]

Hi Selmorott,

Welcome to the forum!

If you're using Auto on your flower close-ups, and getting good results, then there's probably no reason to change. There's no "magic macro setting", if that's what you're asking. If you want a little more control, try the AV mode. You'll be able to change apertures as well as ISO speeds in that mode.

If you want to get closer than the regular macro mode, consider a macro lens. You'll need a "conversion lens adapter" to be able to attach the lens to your camera, but I assume you already have this, since you have a wide angle lens.

[MegaTrixel]

Selmorott,
I'm new to this board too. I've had a G3 for a little over a year.

I'm no expert, but here are a couple of things that I consider when shooting flowers.

1. I try to avoid harsh sunny days for flower close-ups. I like overcast days because the light is more diffused. Direct sunlight can be softened with diffusers but I don't have much experience with that.

2. Be as aware of the background as you are of your subject. Sometimes it's hard to eliminate all the confusion of stems, leaves, rocks, dirt, etc. Shooting with wide open aperatures can help blur the background. You can also blur and darken your background with photoshop (isn't digital great?!)

3. I think you'll notice a big difference once you start using a tripod. The shutter speeds you'll likely encounter are going to be difficult to hand-hold.

Also, I tend to use the G3's manual focus on macro shots because I often don't agree with what auto-focus gives me (based on viewing it thru the lcd). But even with manual focus I often wonder if it is as crisp as I want it. I haven't tried the focus bracketing feature yet. Maybe I should.

Good luck.

[matjazr]

I would suggest small apertures 5.6 - 8.0 and no zoom (bether move the camera closer) to get enough DOF to make photos sharp. I tried Manual focus, but could never get such good results as with Auto focus.
Anyway experiment and you'll find out what works for you.

[Selmorott]

Thanks guys for the advice, I will check out the macro lens and will give the other suggestions a try too.
thanks again
Selmorott

[dbump]

My non-expert $0.02:
If you have a laptop, bring it along, or have it nearby, so you can check the sharpness of your focus. It's very frustrating to have stunning colors, but a fuzzy subject! If you can check quickly on a full display, then you can re-capture any shots that weren't dead on.

You might experiment with using full zoom--as Matjazr points out, this makes it more likely you'll be out of focus, but if you can get it right, a sharp subject really stands out when the background is soft.

Try early morning, or just after sunset--the lighting is great!

MegaTrixel is right--a tripod can really help. If nothing else, it frees up your hands to stabilize the flower stem if it's windy :)

If you feel like cheating, and the background is unappealing/distracting, you can make some backgrounds out of different-colored construction paper. Make a small hole in the center for the stem, and cut a slit from it to the edge, so you can fit it like a collar. Green is more natural/subtle, but other colors can server as a great foil for a contrasting flower color.

Post some samples!

Here's a recent shot of mine:
http://home.comcast.net/~2bumps/img_2489_edited.jpg