Fine-ar t macro
1
SHAPETHELEAFWhenyoubuyskeletalleaves,they’llmostlikelybe
pressedflat,butforthistechniquewewanttousecurvedleavesto
createa greatersenseof depthandtoallowfordepth-of-fieldtofall
off. Dampenoneof yourleaveswithwaterbeforepositioningit under
therimof a smallglass.Leavetodryforanhourorsoand when you
remove the leaf it should have an attractive curve.2
STANDTHELEAFUPTherearemanywaystoholdyourleafin position
andyoucanuseyourpreferredmethod,butonewaythat’squick,
easyandeffectiveis tousethreeclothespegs;oneasa supportat the
bottom,a secondin themiddletogiveheight,andthethirdtoholdthe
leaf.Onceattached,youshouldbeabletorotateandarticulateyour
homemadestandtoholdtheleafat thebestangle.3
MANUALLYFOCUSBeforedarkeningtheroomyou’rein byshuttingthe
curtainsorblinds,manuallyfocusonthedesiredpartof theleaf.
Exactlywhereyoufocusis a matterof personalpreference,buteven
whenshootingat f/8orf/11thedepth-of-fieldwillbeextremely
shallow,somakesureyoufocusontheprecisepartof theleafthat you
find most interesting. I focused on the middle front of the leaf.4
CAMERASETTINGSSetthecameratomanualmodethensetan
exposureof tensecondsat f/8(ISO100).Alsosetthecamera’s
self-timertoa five-seconddelaytoallowyouenoughtimetoprepare
forthelightpainting.You’llbecarefully‘painting’theleafwithlightto
makeit popawayfromthebackground.At thisstage,youcan close the
curtains to make the room dark enough for light painting.5
PAINTWITHLIGHTPresstheshutterbuttontoinitiatetheself-timer
andgetin positiontopainttheleafwithlight.Theamountof light
neededdependsonthesizeandstrengthof thetorch,sobeprepared
toexperimenta littlehere.Onceyou’veworkedthisoutyoucantry
turningtheleafintodifferentpositions,re-focusingeachtime, and
even use coloured gels with your LED torch to add colour.32 DigitalSLR PhotographyJanuar y 2020
JUST NATURALLIGHT:Withthe
exposuresettotensecondsat f/8
andISO100,theresultingimageis
lacklustreanddoesn’tquitework.
In a completelydarkroom,it would
have underexposed to pure black.LIGHTANDCOLOUREDGEL:
Thisversionwaspaintedwithlight
buttoadda burstofcoloura pink
waterbottlewasheldin frontofthe
torch.Youcoulduseflashgelsorany
thin coloured plastic to add colour.THE E F F ECTO FLIGHT