Award Photography

Colin Jennings

The flower should fill the frame more.

WITH the recent move towards digital photogra­phy on a global scale, there seems to be an impres­sion amongst many photographers that to take a digital photograph is so much easier than to take a conventional photograph using film. To take a 'good' photograph requires some thought and com­position regardless of the medium being used.

Yes it might be a simpler process to produce a digital image; the image is immediate and avail­able for review and the photographer can then decide on the suitability or otherwise of the image for the purpose to which it is being put.

Unfortunately the use of digital imagery has not improved the outcomes when some orchid pho­tographers are concerned. Now I do not wish to castigate those who do know how to produce a quality image and do know how to frame the image so that the entire field of view is filled with the image required. What I do wish to comment on is the variable quality of images which I, as Register General, receive with applications for AOC Awards.

This has been an ongoing problem, often put down to the fact that when film was used the pho­tographers were not able to view their pictures until, in many cases, some weeks between the pho­tograph being taken and the finished slide retuned. One of the promotional ideas put forward by some was that we needed to go to digital for everything, and fast!

Unfortunately the images produced by those using film and now being produced digitally by the same people are, in some cases still exhibiting the same faults. True, we can assess the image pro­duced and, if we wish, take another to improve on the previous outcome. But it would appear that this is not being done and in some cases the image sent to the Regional Registrar and hence to me, is still as bad as the ones we once received as slides.

When using a flash be aware of the shadows being cast.

This issue has been raised at many Regional Judges' meetings where judges view the awards slides or digital images to not only assess the qual­ity of the orchid awarded, but to use the images as benchmarks for future awards. If the image viewed is out of focus, occupying about 1/5th of the frame or does not give a clear image of the single flower, then the exercise is rather useless. I have attended many of these review meetings and sometimes cringe when comments are passed by judges about the quality of the projected images.

Other important uses to which these images are put are their reproduction in Orchids Australia, and on AOC Awards Certificates. It is most frus­trating when I set about formatting the images for insertion in the certificates and find that they are inadequate in whatever way.

In recent times we have started to reproduce the images alongside brief descriptors for each of the AOC Awards. I ask you to have a look at the photos and make your own assessment of them.

Richard Fishlock, in a Letter to the Editor, June 2006 issue of Orchids Australia raises this issue for consideration. I have received several communications recently from Regional Registrars asking for me to make an issue of this in a future issue of Orchids Australia. I have taken up this challenge and ask that all growers who submit images to support their award applications address the matter and take note of the constructive com­ments I wish to make here.

                                                                             Flash will reflect off the background and make it hard to see object

I have been asked by one Registrar to repro­duce, in their original 'glory', some of the problem pictures received in the past year or so, and to use them to support an impassioned plea for care to be taken in the preparation of the images submitted.

For each AOC award there is a minimal requirement regarding the nature and number of pictures submitted. Details of these requirements are in the AOC Judges' Handbook, or can be obtained from the Regional Registrar at the time of the award judging. In brief, the requirements are:

For Single-flowered orchids, e.g. paphiope­dilums, etc. Front view of the flower, together with side and back view for RG and Regional Registrar requirements.

For Multi-flowered orchids, e.g. cymbidi­ums, oncidiums etc. Full view of the inflorescence judged (For cymbidiums - the full plant). A front view of a single flower.

For Cultural & Botanical Merit Awards, a full view of the plant together with a front view of a single flower.

It is also important to ensure that all subjects occupy the full frame of the image or as close to this as possible.

Left image: Background can cause a subject to be lost.

The  images here have been selected, not to embarrass the photographers, but to be used as illustrations of some of the problem pictures I have received. This is done in the hope that we will work together towards the production of quality, full frame and well-composed images.

Some simple suggestions to help with the improvement of the final product are:

1.      Ensure that the background used comple­ments the orchid subject. A white flower on a red background may result in problems with bleeding of the background into the white segments. Brickwork patterns do nothing for a delicate orchid subject, nor does the door to the back verandah toi­let, together with bird cage! Backdrops which do not fully 'back' the subject cause problems in preparing a satisfactory outcome.

2.      Ensure that the subject fills the field of view, not appearing as a'pea on a mountain', or such that the segments are truncated so that the flower is incomplete.

3.      Correct exposure - yes that is as important with digital as it is for film. Many cameras are designed to take 'instamatic' pictures and this might result in poor results. If you can manually control the settings use this feature of the camera - it gives you, the photographer, much more control of the outcome.

4.               Light balance. Make sure that the set­ting on the digital camera is correct for the light being used. Indoor lighting is usually flu­orescent, often the camera is set for outdoor lighting. Flash light shots are also a problem if there is too much or too little light getting to the subject. Try a few and find the best out­come - keep records so that you can refer to them next time. The best light is natural light if it is possible to take advantage of it.

5.               Depth of Field. Basically, this about having the entire flower, for its entire depth, in focus. This is best achieved by using a small aperture setting fl 2 or f16, or in some cameras you might get f22.

Colin Jennings AOC Registrar General of Judging

(All photos reproduced here have been left, delib­erately, un-named and without photographer 'cred­its'. They have been scanned from slides or taken directly from the disk supplied, without any crop­ping, alterations to the backgrounds etc. Take a good look at them and consider if you would be happy with them being used to illustrate your plants!)

Right: Background should allow for the flower to been shown at its best - not lost.