Backlit still-life
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COLLECT THELEAVESSpendsometimegatheringsomeleaves– local
parksandgardensarea goodstartingpoint.Pickfreshlyfallenleaves
withfewmarksorholes,of differentcolours,typesandshapestoinject
a strongtonalrangeandinterestin yourcomposition.Amberleaves are
theleast densely coloured and thereforework best backlit.3
SETYOUREXPOSUREComposeyourleavesonthelightbox,setyour
cameratoaperture-prioritymodeanddialin a mid-apertureof
f/8-f/11.Thebacklightwilltrickyourcamera’sTTLmeteringinto
underexposingtheimage,soyou’llwanttoapplyuptoa stop of
positiveexposure compensation forinstantbrightening.5
SETYOURWHITEBALANCEAstheleavesarealreadywarm,AutoWhite
Balancemayattempttocorrectwhatit thinksis a warmcolourcast
andneutralisetheleaves’naturalwarmthbycoolingit down.If this
happens,changetheWhiteBalancesettingfromAutotoCloudy or
shoot in Raw format so you can tweak it in post-production.6
ADJUSTTHEARRANGEMENTWhenoverlayingleavesof similarcolour,
trytoplacedarkertonesunderneathasthey’llbedenserandneed
morebacklighting.Youmayalsofinda focalpointis neededtocreate
contrastandananchor.Havinggapswherethelightboxshines
through is distracting, too, so play with the arrangements.2
SETUPYOURLIGHTBOXIf youhavea lightboxalready,skipthisstep.
If youdon’t,youcantryanLEDdrawingpad(Amazonoffer a few)
that’spoweredbyUSB,a desklampundera sheetglassora glass-
toppedcoffeetable.Placea sheetof tracingpaper over the top of the
glass to soften and widen the spread of light.4
CONTROLTHEDEPTH-OF-FIELDWhentakingoverheadshots,optimise
depth-of-fieldbykeepingthecamera’ssensor– whichsitsparallel
totherearLCDpanel– squaretothesubject,soastokeepallobjects
in focus.If thecamerais slantedat anangletothesubject,areasmay
drift out of focus if you’re also not using a sufficiently small aperture.26 DigitalSLR PhotographyDecember 2019
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