Backyard Zinnias

If I wish to isolate a flower, I often look for well lit blossoms with a dark background. Moreover, flowers with a strong red color content can be problematic for digital cameras. I use spot metering and under expose the image. I always shoot flowers in raw and then adjust the exposure in the raw file, checking the red channel, for this flower, to avoid blown red highlights. The objective is to retain as much detail in the texture of the petals whilst retaining accurate color rendition.

I chose a late afternoon sunlit setting, the Golden Hour. The bright light and long shadows enhance the texture and detail of the petals. These images were shot at 200 mm and an aperture of F2.8 - 3.5 which further isolates the blossom.