Fill Flash--Bring your Own Sun! (Part One)

Assassin Bug, Peruvian Amazon

Photographing from below can increase the sense of drama, especially if the subject is a predator, such as this assassin bug. If done well, it gives the viewer the feeling of being prey.

One of the technical problems, however, may be that light still falls from above, and the lower parts of the subject may be in shadow.

Full flash will light the subject, certainly, but then you have a harsh light, with the potential for those horrible (opinionated!) black backgrounds. A reflector might work, if your subject is dead, sleeping, or very passive.

Solution: Fill flash! Fill flash, when adjusted properly, supplies just enough light to "fill" those areas of darkness just enough to show the detail you want, without being overpowering.

One of the things that I appreciate most about digital photography is the immediate feedback that I get by looking at the LCD immediately after shooting. I can tell right away whether my lighting is effective or not, and make the appropriate adjustments. In the next several blogs, I will share my own techniques for fill-flash.

End of...the Season

our garden,

long past prime...

bleeding hearts

Silhouettes

Spider and Web 2

Composites---Imagination at Work!

I couldn't show dragonfly photographs without posting this one. One of my favorite images, it is entirely made up. It was composed of 4 different photographs and put together in Photoshop.
Reeds, insect, moon, and clouds--all from different times and places. The only common denominator--my imagination.

What I like:
The monotonic, dreamy softness of it.

What I don't like:
Not much. I'm not sure that the perspective of the moon is totally believable in terms of size and sharpness.

Any comments?

What I like:
The balance of the image. I like how the bud recapitulates the color and position of the butterfly.