Worst flower to photograph?

[DaveW]

What is your worst flower to photograph to try and get the colours right. Mine is Aylostera rosalbiflora with white but slightly flushed pink petals?

I am often being shown numerous photo's on smartphones of collectors plants but so few seem to post them on Forums like this? Yet have no reservations of posting on Social Media. Todays smartphones are more than adequate for posting on the web so why not?

[greatnorthernexotic]

My uebelmannia pectinifera has spectacularly unspectacular flowers IMHO. Difficult to make look interesting in a photograph.

[Chris L]

One that flowered when you were out for the day?

Seriously, reds are the worst for me.

[DaveW]

Yes the digital camera sensor does not always see colours as we do having the plant in front of us, but then neither did film.

I can find little about "rosalbiflora" on the Web other than it was a Ritter name.

https://www.rebutia.org.uk/aylostera-amblypetala/

The only picture I can find on the Web seems to be a much pinker coloured clone than mine.

https://garden.org/plants/photo/632738/

[el48tel]

Sorry guys .... but there is a simple solution. Take a piece of black card out with you when you photograph ... that is then your "standard colour" ..... tell your camera or processing app that is neutral .... and apply those settings to all photos taken on that day at that time in that place.
OR
set the colour temperature in your camera settings
OR
use a standard colour temperature card or dongle

[Herts Mike]

In terms of position Huernia pendula is almost impossible.

[SimonT]

This photo seems quite a similar pink- you can just see the pink flush?

https://www.adblps-graines-cactus.com/g ... f-1557.jpg

Reds are the worst colours to photograph for me although really bright pink can also be quite tricky.

[DaveW]

As I understand it you can use a black card to set that tone in photo processing (white and grey ones the same), but for setting exposure at the camera traditionally it was a Kodak 18% grey card. This was supposed to be what all camera meters integrated to (not strictly true, but near enough). Getting the camera exposure correct or black in processing will not always render all colours correctly but is a good starting point since sensors (and film in the past) don't see all colours the same as the human eye.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_card ... %20%5B1%5D

https://photo.stackexchange.com/questio ... white-card

As said, sensor and eye do not see the same so photo processing, either in camera or afterwards, is needed to produce an image something like our eyes see.

https://medium.com/hd-pro/human-vision- ... db3b19cc7f

[el48tel]

As I understand it you can use a black card to set that tone in photo processing (white and grey ones the same), but for setting exposure at the camera traditionally it was a Kodak 18% grey card. This was supposed to be what all camera meters integrated to (not strictly true, but near enough). Getting the camera exposure correct or black in processing will not always render all colours correctly but is a good starting point since sensors (and film in the past) don't see all colours the same as the human eye.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_card ... %20%5B1%5D

https://photo.stackexchange.com/questio ... white-card

As said, sensor and eye do not see the same so photo processing, either in camera or afterwards, is needed to produce an image something like our eyes see.

https://medium.com/hd-pro/human-vision- ... db3b19cc7f

Most processing apps baulk at white cards. Grey .... unless an 18% Kodak or similar .... can be anything but grey. Black would seem to be the ones used to set colour print standards, certainly in the pro digital art software I use. There are colour standardisation matrix packs available from several manufacturers. You photograph it. You load the image into your process app. The difference is evaluated and you calibrate your images from it. Or you use a standard grey cube. I have both. They both have advantages and disadvantages.

[rodsmith]

I don't normally use a camera phone for photographs, preferring a didital camera, and I find that underexposing a shot by one third or two thirds of a stop - sometimes even a whole stop - emphasises contrast and colour in flower photos.