Purple Dream

I love playing with colors and "depth of field" with my macro lens so here another try-out from me let me know what you think!

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EDIT: this "making of" was done for Advanced Photography 101

1. Taken Outdoors
2. Weather conditions: sunny (summer), windy (so use something to block the wind!)
3. Time of Day: afternoon
4. Equipment used: Nikon D80, Lens: Nikkor AF-S 105mm F 2.8 G IF-ED VR, Shutter Speed: 10/3200 second, F Number: F/6.3, Focal Length: 105 mm, no Filters/Tripod/Flash
5. Camera Settings, ie: A, not shot in RAW (though you should!)
6. Post processing in detail: PS2, time spent 20min

Here's the story to explain my settings a little
I have a fixed focal length, so all my macro pictures you see with this lens are at 105mm (so no zoom!). For me to get a F/6.3, there has to be a lot of light which I was fotunate to have. If it had been any darker I really would have needed a tripod. I usually play with my depth of field (DOF) = aperture to get the right shot. Sometimes I use manual though when i can't get it right, then I also adjust the shutterspeed. Nowadays I always shoot in RAW (though not with this picture) as it gives you a lot more freedom in light/color adjustements afterwards.
In PS2 I simply adjusted the levels (I usually make the darks stand out a bit more but you have to see what fits with the atmosphere) and upped the saturation levels of the purple, so you get a nice color. The frame was done on a lower layer where I played with "canvas size" to get the frame measurements the way they are now. My text layer is always the last layer (ie my name or signature). When not shooting in RAW, I usually only use PS. You must seriously consider using Lightroom though when shooting in RAW as the possibilities are much greater, but I'll describe that sometime with another of my photographs (or ask me if you want!).
Hope I've helped!

For More of the Advanced Photography 101 please see the AP101 gallery

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