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The

reflection

helps fill

out the

frame and

makes

excellent

use of the

space

Flipped flower
by John Richard
Scales

Inspired by
some of the
amazing home
studio shots I’ve
seen coming out
of this lockdown,
I wanted to try something
similar. I remembered seeing
an article in the Spring issue
of Practical Photography on
creative flower projects. For
a challenge, I used a focus
stacking method I had never
tried before to achieve this
reflection shot.
jrsphotography.co.uk
Canon 80D | 70mm | 1/30sec | f/4 | ISO 100
Adam says: The pastel-
coloured pink and blue work John’s chosen flower has
together brilliantly in this a few marks and blemishes
image and set a lovely feel to that are a little distracting. The art of focus stacking
the whole photograph. John When working with such
Shooting up close leads
has also done an excellent close-up photography, it pays
to a very shallow depth-
job with the focus stacking, to find the most pristine
of-field, even at narrow
especially for a first attempt flower you can for flawless
apertures. Sometimes the
– it’s nearly perfect. There are results. We’ve no complaints
only way to get the whole
just a couple of areas where about the composition,
subject in focus is to use
the shot fades from pin-sharp though. The addition of the
focus stacking. This is
on the centre of the flower reflection really helps fill
a technique of shooting
head to slight blur on the out the frame and makes
multiple images, moving
edges and then back to excellent use of the space.
the focus point in each
sharpness on the petals. You Creating the reflection to
one. You can then blend
have to zoom in quite closely show the top of the flower
the images together to
to notice this, though. More gives a unique perspective
increase the amount of
images taken across the focus and adds a subtle surreal feel
your image that’s sharp.
range and stacked together to the image that works well
would solve this issue. in this context.

64 PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY