Naked Lady!

GOT YA!

It's just the Madonna Lily, also known as the Naked lady.

This is the only flower in my garden and the pot is toooooo heavy to move to a decent location



If anyone can explain to me in very simple terms how to make the background all one colour I would be forever grateful.

beautiful Jan even in the location it's at, advice on making the background all one colour, 2 ways 1st one is a reshoot with a black cloth for a backdrop (too easy) lol or 2nd, very careful selection of the flower and invert then a choice of selective colour, curves or levels to change it all to the one colour

In Shot: Take a chair out there, drape a black towel over the back...

In Shot2: Use a fast shutter speed, with flash, so the flash only lights the flower and the background is left dark... works in the early morning before it's too bright, or just after the sun goes down...

In Photoshop: Put the flower on a seperate layer, with a layer filled in black underneath it - make a layer mask over the flower, set to reveal all, then paint on it with black to make the background disappear - paint with white over the bits you go over accidentally...

In Photoshop: Make a contrast mask to use to make the mask layer - much quicker, but more skill needed...

In Photoshop: Use the lasso tool, in a nice deep magnified mode, to surround the flower, then invert the selection, hit delete, and add a black background behind it...

Here's a quick one done with the lasso tool - not perfect, but then it is only an 800 pixel image:



If you want it as a .psd, to see how it's done, let me know and I'll pop it on a server...

Cheers,
Stuart

Lovely flower Jan...your making me want Spring all the more!!! SO tired of winter!! You don't have to move the pot to a new location...how about shooting another angle...like upwards. Use the sky as the background. Just a thought.

I didn't know those where Madonna Lilys you learn something new everyday. Lovely capture Jan.

you devil Jan, you will get the fellas all excited there with that topic description! beautiful flower, you have given me an idea to take a shot of an orchid i have in the house, will try it with a black background too.

Terri it is under shade cloth. no good.

Stuart, I will try early tomorrow morning. If that doesn't work I will try with the lasso tool. But I am hopeless with layers, Cathie has explained so many times I think she has given up with me. lol

I am really handicapped with my back, can't get down low or twist the body. I may end up picking the flower and putting it in a vase so i can lift it up.

Thanks everyone for your help

Thanks Robin,

Fee I have lots of flowers with black backgrounds but I have to pick them and put in a vase.
I have a cheap memo board covered with black fabric stapled tothe wooden frame

ah thats a good idea, have been hunting the house and i cant find anything black!!

Get some plain cotton or felt Fee, if you get poly cotton it sometimes shows shiny in the pic

what do you think about using black velvet? think i read somewhere that that was good to use too?

black velvet is supposed to give you true black Fee so yes thats good

Fee,

Black Velvet is the best to use for that perfect black background. Make sure you get velvet and not velour. Velvet is a wee bit more expensive but worth it. I use it for all my black background work.

Jan,

Beautiful flower, naughty gal you are, getting all the blokes excited. As if they needed any help in that department

hugs
Emilie

Alright I gone through this thread and I can't find no naked ladies. :cry: