84 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY
Lovein a mist
byAndrewRoberts
The ‘love-in-a-
mist’ flower is
one of my wife’s
favourites, which
is why I wanted
to shoot it. The
ar rangement was set up on
a table with window light
coming in from the right,
and a piece of white card
positioned to the left to throw
some light back into the
shadows. The challenge was
finding a composition I was
completely happy with, soI
tr ied various angles. I wanted
to create a dreamy effect and
chose a wide aperture, using
Li ve View to fine-tune the shot.Ben says: Andrew has
chosen a subject that’s both
beguiling and rather alien,
with its wiry tendrils and
exotic colours. And what an
evocative name for a flower!
The simplicity of the setup
is to be commended, as is the
fact that Andrew has created
such a captivating image with
relatively modest kit. Soft
window light is the perfect
complement to the subject’s
gentle shapes and contours,
and the lack of heavy contrast
tells us that the white card
was well placed and veryeffective.Muchlikethe
subject, however, it’s under
the microscope where this
image shines, because thisis
one of the sharpest we’ve seen
fo r some time. Pinpoint where
it needs to be, and beautifully
di ffused elsewhere, you can
see every hair and vein in
exquisite detail.
I’d be tempted to opt fora
more off-centre composition.
There’s nothing wrong with
central framing, though I’d
argue that the top third of
Andrew’s picture doesn’t add
a great deal. This is, of course,
entirely subjective and doesn’t
detract from a cracking image.It’s free, infinitely variable
and easy to control. It’s
also the perfect light
source for delicate subjects
like flowers. Wait for a
bright but overcast day
when the light is soft and
diffused, make sure you
turn off all other lights so
you’re not mixing artificial
with natural, and use a
reflector – a sheet of white
card is ideal – to minimise
heavy shadows.Work with window lightSoftwindow
light is the
perfect
blend
with the
subject’s
gentle
shapes
Canon 80D | 100mm | 1.6sec | f/4 | ISO 100