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Lighting Techniques for Photographing Mushrooms PART I: THE BASICS Edward Matisoff his article is the first of two single battery or artificial light source. it is necessary to modify the quality of installments on the subject NOTE: As a general proposition, that light in order to obtain satisfactory of lighting for mushroom it is recommended that one mount photographic images. Tphotography and will address the forms the camera on a tripod or a beanbag Homemade Light Modifiers: Light of light utilized for photographing (for true ground level shots) when modifiers can take a number of forms, mushrooms. Part II will focus on photographing mushrooms. The tripod but for purposes of this discussion, we advanced techniques for balancing must have the ability to place the camera will be looking at objects that modify ambient light with artificial light to very low to the ground, with legs that the quality of the light, but not the create images with perfectly exposed swing out and lock in at a number of color. This will be accomplished in one subjects and backgrounds. positions, permitting progressively lower of two ways: (1) bouncing the light off There are basically three forms camera elevations. The main advantages of a reflective surface or (2) passing the of light that one utilizes when of a tripod are: (1) Smaller apertures light through a translucent material. To photographing mushrooms: Direct can be utilized to maximize depth- avoid the expense of commercially made Sunlight, Ambient Light (or indirect of-field because the one can now use photographic reflectors or diffusers, light) and Artificial Light. very slow shutter speeds; (2) It allows one can manufacture these items at Direct Sun: Those sunny days that one to precisely set up and lock in the home quite inexpensively with simple sometimes follow a good rainfall are an composition; (3) It frees up one’s hands household items. excellent time to find mushrooms. The to take care of other matters such as Reflectors: Because you will soil is damp, the air is cool and often the positioning lights or reflectors, as well be shooting small objects that, in sky is clear. This is beautiful weather, as the moving of distracting objects most cases, are close to the ground, but horrible lighting for photographic out of the scene without disturbing the homemade reflectors need not be very purposes. Sunlight is directional and composition; (4) It permits one to adjust large. You can use white mat board harsh. All by itself, direct sunlight the camera controls without misaligning as the basic material from which to will create intense shadows and high or changing the camera position. construct the reflectors. A 10 x 14 piece contrast that rarely results in pleasing Because of the harshness of direct sun, of mat board will make four 5 x 7 inch photos. The sun is, however, a free light source that can be harnessed and utilized in a number of resourceful ways to provide some unique lighting effects. Keep in mind that the sun will never be directly overhead between the months of October through February, which is mushroom season on the West Coast. During those months, the sun follows a shallow arc in the southern portion of the sky. Depending upon where you place the camera in relation to the subject, you can have either direct lighting (coming over your shoulder and directly striking the front of the subject), side lighting, or back lighting. By utilizing some homemade lighting accessories, one can have the effect of a “mini field studio” without requiring a Figure 1. 40 FUNGI • Volume 5:5 • Winter 2012 positions the camera so that the subject/ mushroom(s) is between the camera and the sun. In this configuration, the sun is striking the back of the subject(s) and the reflectors are bouncing the sun light back on to the front of the subject(s). This lighting setup uses the sun as a rim light or back light and will have the effect of visually separating the mushroom subjects from their background. The downside to using this setup is that it obviously limits the scope of available compositions. The best shot of the mushrooms may very well not be the one where the sun is directly behind them. Another style of reflector that can be very effective and more simple in design is a piece of white mat board between 11 x 14 and 12 x 16 inches in size that has a hole cut in it sufficiently large enough to permit one's camera lens to protrude through the opening. The hole should be placed in the middle of one of the dimensions a few inches from the edge of the board. In the same manner as with the small reflectors, the subject is oriented with the sun behind it and the composition is setup with the camera mounted low to the ground. The hole Figure 2. in the mat board is slid over the lens with the white surface of the reflector reflectors and a 16 x 20 inch piece will or a pair of ice cream sticks, glue them facing the subject. Using a free hand, make four 8 x 10 inch reflectors. One to the back side of the reflector and the reflector is tilted and angled so as to can also apply tin foil to the reflector to sharpen the other end so it will stick direct reflected light on to the subject increase the amount of light reflecting in the ground. You should have at least (see Fig. 2). Set the exposure mode on onto the subject, but the quality of the two of these reflectors to effectively your camera to AUTO and release the light bouncing off of tin foil will be model the light (see Fig. 1). With this shutter. Then check the results on the almost as harsh as the set-up, one LCD screen. You can light that strikes make any necessary it, and result in adjustments to deep shadows and the exposure with higher contrast. the Exposure Crumpling the foil Compensation Dial before applying it on your camera. to the mat board Diffusers: An will break up the alternate method reflected light a bit, of taming direct but the light will still sunlight is with a be more harsh than diffuser. A diffuser is bouncing it off of a a device that scatters white surface. light and prevents In order to glare. It can be have the ability made of translucent to position the material that is reflector and to placed between have it stay in place, the light source locate a small flat and the subject piece of material, for the purpose of such as a wooden softening the light that falls tongue depressor on the subject. A homemade Winter 2012 • Volume 5:5 • FUNGI 41 Figure 3. Figure 4. diffuser could be a small sheet of white production image editing program such as the main light source, or it can be translucent plastic a few mills thick or a as Photoshop. used to fill shadows. In either case, it piece of white linen. You’ll need to make By and large, overcast or shadowed must be balanced with ambient light in a lightweight frame to which you can light is preferable for shooting order to obtain pleasing results. attach the translucent material. PVC mushrooms for the reasons stated Most flash units marketed today are pipe with elbow joints will make a very above. There is, however, another TTL. That means the camera makes a lightweight frame. The size of the frame problem that occurs when shooting through-the-lens reading of the intensity should be big enough that diffused light in this light that is unique to of the electronic flash as it is bouncing will cast on the subject as well as the photographing mushrooms. Ambient off the subject and then automatically foreground and immediate background. light is predominantly overhead cuts off the strobe light when the subject The larger the frame, the larger the area light. Overhead light has a number has been properly exposed. The more of diffused light will be. of predictable effects on “umbrella- expensive flash units also have a manual Ambient Light: If you are not shaped” objects, like mushrooms. The function where one can manually set the shooting in direct sunlight, you will top of the cap receives more light than power level of the flash unit at intervals be capturing images in ambient light. the sides or the structures under the ranging from full power to as low as The forms of ambient light that you cap. The usual result is underexposed 1/128th power. A manual setting will will encounter looking for mushroom gills and stalks. This condition requires permit a great deal of flexibility and subjects are, typically, overcast sky or the use of reflected or artificial light to control in balancing the artificial light cloudy daylight, on the one hand, and properly and completely expose those with the ambient light level as well as shade, on the other. The light created areas of the subject. While reflectors controlling lighting ratios between the by an overcast or cloudy sky will create might help a little, they are not very flash units. The current trend for flash a soft and diffused light that is low in effective in overcast or shadowed light. is wireless units that require no cables contrast, rendering colors in soft pastels, Artificial light is the best solution in this to connect them with the camera. flattening textures and depicting detail circumstance (see Figs.

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