Platycodon and Jasminum, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger.

This is a photo-composite created using several captures of a Balloon flower (Platycodon) surrounded by Jasmine on a white background. My idea was to create an image that looked a little like an old-fashioned botannical illustration. To this end, I purposely used a white background that has a slight yellow tint.

I also used lighting that minimized the contrast range in the image. As you can see, there are hardly any shadows. In some contexts, this kind of lighting is called high-key lighting. The point is usually to create a lighting setup that will work without changes over a number of subjects. In this case, I used high-key lighting (of a sort) to create a flat, almost two-dimensional look (in keeping with the botannical print theme).

Finally, as I noted, this is a composite image created from a number of exposures. All the exposures are biased to the over-exposure side. Even the shortest exposure time I used (one second) read on my light meter as an over exposure. The point of over exposing was to increase apparent transparency.

Some related links: Harold Davis Flowers on White Flickr set; White Anemone; Thrice as Nice; Alstromeria.

[Nikon D300, Sigma 50mm f/2.8 macro lens (75mm in 35mm terms), four captures at shutter speeds from one to 13 seconds; all captures at f32 and ISO 100, tripod mounted.]