Trying to learn to shot mushrooms

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

B

Bob k.

Active member
Member's gallery
I am new to macro photography and I am trying to photograph mushrooms which is difficult in southern California since they are fairly rare in the foothills around here. I am doing focus stacking using LR and PS and recently I have started using an off-camera flash. I have started to move the flash into a different position with each exposure and this has softened the shadows significantly. Using flash is a new skill for me. It is more than a little intimating posting pictures here given the great work that I see but I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions that you might have that would help me move my photography forward. I have included two images, one stacked without flash and one stacked with flash.

Z6ii, Nikon 105 mm with FTZ (manual focus- it is an old lens with the screw drive)




DSC_2386-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.




DSC_2406-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
Member's gallery
Very nice! I prefer the second image. I agree with Alan that the background is less distracting in the second. The natural light and colors are also more appealing to me.
 
Member's gallery
thanks for sharing Bob -I also like shooting mushrooms and posted some of my pics earlier here (look out for the "forest magic" thread here).
I'm not using a flash but if at all a small LED penlight to get some light under the heads. sometimes a small reflector does it as well.

Most important for great fungi shots from my pov is a nice clean background which gives a good seperation to the main subject. Sometimes it helps to shoot from a different position to get to such perspective and have less distracting background. I usually try to shoot wide open for nice bokeh - the dof is generated by stacking.
Your pictures look sharp and crisp which I like a lot and shows your technique is the right one. I know it's not always possible but getting a clear background will help to make your fungi shoots look even better! Looking forward seeing more fungi shots.
 
Member's gallery
aolander said:
I like the second image the best. The background is less distracting.
Click to expand...

Agreed and the color is more pleasing. Plus the second shows a bit of the gills which is always a good idea with mushroom photos -- if it can be done; some folks recommend, in a photo of several mushrooms, tipping one to show the underside of one cap.
 
Member's gallery
I agree with Woody that some reveal of the gills enhances the photo. It is partly why I like the second shot best. Backlighting can also be quite effective. Nice work.
 
Member's gallery
both are nice. I like the composition of the 2nd photo better. This is being really nit picky (digging into minutia) but the harsh shadows behind the tiny green leaves in the image are a little distracting to my eye. It's an excellent shot and if I wasn't looking for things to offer suggestions I would have not noticed this small detail. While it may be a touch overexposed (I do not know what the natural color of these mushrooms looked like if they were the darker reddish brown or more of a light gray brown in nature) but something about the lighting in the first image is more pleasing while the composition and more blurred background in the second is more pleasing.

Honestly, I would be happy with either image.

Jeff
 
Member's gallery
Thanks for all the feedback I really appreciate it. Here is a little more information on the two shots. The first one is a composed of 1 second exposures at f11 with no flash. I think I had about five images in the stack. The second one is composed of about 5 shots at 1/13 second at f11 with flash. In the second image I added some vignette which seemed to make the background less distracting. I was amazed at how much the flash brought out the colors in the second shot. I do agree that including the gills really adds interest to the picture. I wasn't sure what to do with the little green sprouts, I thought about taking them out but in the end I left them. Thanks again for your comments, you have given me a lot to think about.
 
Member's gallery
One of the suggestions that several people made was including more of the gills in the picture. I was able to do that when I was out shooting a couple of days ago. I was amazed by the color and the structures I found.
1642797310591.jpeg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top