Eric Group
Masterpiece
A couple months ago I got a new camera, which was step 1 towards taking better bonsai pics... Well.. actually step 1 was getting betterr bonsai I guess... But now that I have a few trees I like, I wanted to be able to take some good pics of them. The use of natural light and the flash is limiting.. and after reading all Grouper's posts about proper Bonsai photography, and seeing what a well planned/executed pic of a tree can do to improve the look of that tree on the forum.. I decided it was time to finally get my little garage studio going. Been planning to do this since I bought the camera and just got around to it today! Total investment was less than $50 for lighting and everything, and set up time was nominal.
Had to take a few shots to find the best combo of settings, lighting, angles.. But I can tell a drastic improvement already. My big issue right now- my back drop sheet is too "satiny" and needs to be ironed... so, I will fix that eventually.. I plan on adding a white sheet to the mix one day and maybe a grey one too.
This was one of the first pics I took after I found a good aperture range.. Still needed to get better lighting on the pot and front...
This Boxwood came out pretty good I thought, but I need a tripod (the next upgrade coming soon).. my hands are not steady enough for indoor shooting most the time:
A cool little azalea: Satsuki "Gumbi"
Some detail shots- a piece of wood widening the gap between some branches on the Gumbi, and that Juni from the first pic, after it was back outside.. just wanted to get all macro on the mushroom.
So, not pro caliber I know, but it was fun for me to do.. and was a fun/fast/cheap upgrade! I have a solid background (a 4 year DEGREE) in FILM, so I am qualified to take better pics. I just thought it was time to start DOING IT.
Please let me know what you think.
Had to take a few shots to find the best combo of settings, lighting, angles.. But I can tell a drastic improvement already. My big issue right now- my back drop sheet is too "satiny" and needs to be ironed... so, I will fix that eventually.. I plan on adding a white sheet to the mix one day and maybe a grey one too.
This was one of the first pics I took after I found a good aperture range.. Still needed to get better lighting on the pot and front...
This Boxwood came out pretty good I thought, but I need a tripod (the next upgrade coming soon).. my hands are not steady enough for indoor shooting most the time:
A cool little azalea: Satsuki "Gumbi"
Some detail shots- a piece of wood widening the gap between some branches on the Gumbi, and that Juni from the first pic, after it was back outside.. just wanted to get all macro on the mushroom.
So, not pro caliber I know, but it was fun for me to do.. and was a fun/fast/cheap upgrade! I have a solid background (a 4 year DEGREE) in FILM, so I am qualified to take better pics. I just thought it was time to start DOING IT.
Please let me know what you think.