Good trich showing settings?

[Dimebagg]

Hey friends, Ive been documenting my grows here for awhile now, and now that Ive started producing some real pretty buds, I want to be able to share them the best I can.

I have a D40 with stock lens. Ive been reading a DSLR book I recently bought, but have yet to get into the real good stuff. I dont necessarily want to learn how to take marcros, but I want to figure out what settings I should have adjusted to take pics of my buds that really show off its thick layer of trichs.

When I set my Great White Shark right outside of my cab, so its sitting in indirect HPS, the buds are just gorgeous. They are just fat, greasy, and almost white with trichs. But I cant seem to get a picture that really replicates what Im seeing with my eyes. The layer of trichs that cover the buds and sugar leaves tends to just disapear when I take a photo. Heres some good examples of what I want to replicate, some beautiful buds and some great photos:

Sour Life Saver by BushyOldGrower

Angola Verde X Banghi by Marijuanaut

Potent Purple by Brastaman

Trikrome by Highlighter

Im also having a little trouble getting a large enough area to focus in. Do you think my basic equipment is enough? Any help would be great guys, thanks

 

[Dreamz_Of_Green]

im no pro but this is what i suggest and know if im wrong someone chime in

1: goto manual settings
2: set ISO to around 250 or less if u got HPS on
3: raise your Fstop to around 8-12 (the higher the more u will have in focus)
4: set your shutter speed to around 250-180 range (the lower the less light will come into the cam when shutter opens
5: Zoom all the way out and focus til u find your shot ur looking for
6:Tripods work wonders and turn ur fans off if u dont want smear blur effects on your pictures
7:Alot of pix here are photo shopped with contrast brightness and other effects to make them look more professional reguardless if ppl wanna admit it or not
Fstop will be how much is in focus in your picture and plays a roll in depth of a picture when shooting at certain angles these settings maybe a little off or dead on for shooting cannabis but those were gave to me for my nikon tinker around in manual mode
8: lighting is key to these settings u should end up with nice shots after u tinker a bit like i said my settings is for a D3000 and it does wonderful

as each setting on the cam has its own purpose for allowing light into the cams lens and how long the shutter will be open to how much of what your trying to photograph is in focus

quick D3000 stock lens pic below was
with 200 iso (how much light is allowed into the cams lens)
Fstop 8 (how much is in focus in the pic the higher the more u will have in focus)
Shutter speed 250 (the higher the number the longer it stays open do not go any higher then 250 for cannabis unless u got a tripod)

one more thing if u want your frost to pop like this get a good flash kit and u will get the white reflection off the crystals like u see above when they cloud up


this was a snap and post pic coulda been better a lil photoshop for contrast and wallah most the time i shoot several and choose the best ones maybe pick 2 or 3 out of 50 the more u take the more u will learn try different settings in manual mode another thing u can do is download pics and right click them and goto properties this will give the info u seek for any picture on the net as i know of ISO,Fstop,Shutter Speed, everything bout the cams settings that took the pic

 

[DoobieDuck]

Dimebag can you show us what the shots you are getting now look like? Then I could make some recomendations...possbly? I'd like to see what lighting and background you are using? What lens? Thanks DD

 

[GMT]

To improve your depth, (assuming you upped the fstop all the way), shoot from further away and zoom in a little.

 

[DoobieDuck]

Photoshop Tools for Adjusting Your Image

Photoshop Tools for Adjusting Your Image

im no pro...Alot of pix here are photo shopped with contrast brightness and other effects to make them look more professional reguardless if ppl wanna admit it or not

DOG I'm surprised by your comment, is there something wrong with trying to make ones images look the best they can? Should they be required to reveal, "Admit", their personal tricks of how they create the best image? I readily come forth with my post processing techniques when asked, but not my set up!
Most of my images are auto corrected in Photoshop along with a 50% sharpening value, nothing more, most photographers I know do these and they aren't Pros. Some download programs nowdays, possibly the one you use, do these automatically when moving the images from your camera to your PC, and the users never even know it. These are also performed in the dark room by film photographers with time, temprature, chemicals, paper types, and lighting. It's called adjusting the tonal qualities of your image. You could look at it like an artist choosing or blending his paints for a compostition. If you are going to be a photographer these are helpful tools, I don't consider effects, other than sharpening, and certainly not cheating.
More important, I never add, blend, or take anything away in my captures by using Photoshop unless revealing that in the description. I never have taken any advanced digital courses, all self taught. The information and tools are avaliable to everyone and Photoshop programs, like the one I use, affordable. DD

 

[DevilWeed]

Hell, my 7D has 4 or 5 "modes" which change the way the image is processed and stored as a jpg. The modes do things like sharpen, contrast, wb, etc... changes. So in effect, my camera is photoshopping on the fly. Only way to avoid is to go RAW, which I only use when I want to get really precise.

 

[smoke1sun]

Im no pro either, but some reccommendations ive been told to try when taking macro's are.

Correct lighting without using you flash is, and move the light to different angles.
Tripods are your fiend.
Save you file in RAW format, you get better editing capabilities, without sacrificing quality.
Take pictures from different angles.(eye level can SOMETIMES make you pic to boring)
Take you pics from different distances, then zoom in on and crop on you computer.
And take a lot, of pics. You can never have to many to choose from.

I'd have to agree with Doobie, Post editing is a part of photography.
If your changing the colors of you bud pics see rainbow bud on youtube, but i could be wrong. If this is real i want it. lol

[

 

[Dimebagg]

Hey guys, sorry I didnt get back to this thread, especially after getting so many responses. Im going to get a little photo session in today to see how well I can do with the new tips, but here is some of my pics Ive taken. you can see in certain areas how trich covered my buds are, but they just wash out so much it seems, compared to the pics of my desired product.

 

[DevilWeed]

Those shot's look great!

One of the best ways I've found to showcase trichs is by playing with ambient lighting and the flash. Not sure but I'm betting the D40 has an adjustable flash intensity. If it does, bring your ambient light down a bit and play with the flash settings. If you get the exposure just right, the flash will illuminate the trich globes and really show the density.

 

[DevilWeed]

You can also cheat a bit and use a USB microscope!

 

[Mad.Dapper]

I just use close up shot setting and a steady hand on my cheap lil Samsung camera..

 

[Dimebagg]

Did my best to match the suggested settings, this is what I came up with. Still not the best, but getting there. My macro lense is also too big, I have to pull off certain angles to keep from getting shadows. Guess I need a remote flash. Let me know what you guys think I should adjust.

 

[DevilWeed]

I think your shot's look really good for a stock lens! You mention a "macro" lens. Do you have a true macro? If not, that plus remote or macro specific flashes will definitely kick it WAY up a notch. I'm saving my pennies for a new lens myself.

 

[Dimebagg]

those new shots are with my new macro attachment. Its definitely not a true macro lens, just a 2 piece macro/wide angle lens that screws into the end of the stock lens. It was $10 shipped (Hong Kong, of course), I figured it was worth a shot. It does ok, I know a real lens would do better, but its not something I'll be getting any time soon unless I come across a killer deal. Next think I need is a better flash.

 

[DoobieDuck]

Dime you've come a long way Brotha. Those look good. I don't know what you are expecting but for ever 100 images I usually shoot I keep only a dozen or so and post only one out of a hundred here. I told you very early on macros are tough. I hardly ever use flash but have gotten some great images with flash, your call. Sometimes I'll set up a table in the DIRECT sunlight, where it peeks under that long lens and still brightens the bud. But the direct sun can cause a hazy effect too. You just gotta play with it freind, if you find something that works be sure to write it down! DD

 

[IckySticky]

Did my best to match the suggested settings, this is what I came up with. Still not the best, but getting there. My macro lense is also too big, I have to pull off certain angles to keep from getting shadows. Guess I need a remote flash. Let me know what you guys think I should adjust.[/IMG]

A good start would be a macro lens for your d40, unfortunately your D40 will not auto focus the cheaper & still available Nikon 60 micro F2.8D which uses the camera screw drive to autofocus. The older Micro Nikkor doesn’t have an AFS motor inside. Problem is the D40 does not have the camera driven screw drive to auto focus older non AFS lens..AFS is an internal motor inside the lens that does the auto focusing for the lens instead of the camera body screw drive. That means if you want AF on your D40 you need an AFS type lens like the newer 60micro F2.8G..For really close shooting of static subject manual focusing is preferred by me anyway.. However any moving things like bugs etc you will need AF. The older D50 had a built in screw drive but Nikon removed the feature in D40 to keep the camera body as small as possible..Removed in D60 as well

Older 60 macro non AFS
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/66987-USA/Nikon_1987_AF_Micro_Nikkor_60mm_f_2_8D.html

New 60 macro with AFS
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/545660-USA/Nikon_2177_AF_S_Micro_Nikkor_60mm_f_2_8G.html

With all that said about the lower cost Nikon macro lens I feel this 1:1 macro lens by tamron is the biggest bang for the buck for any SLR pentax, canon, nikon

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/330643-USA/Tamron_AF272NII_700_SP_AF90mm_f_2_8_Di.html


regarding your second point about shadows...yea close focusing macro photography makes the pop up flash on the camera or even a speedlight mounted in the hot shoe a moot point..the light cant reach your subject when youre on top of it.. Come in the side with a good flashlight.. I simply use the Sb29 sync cord with my Nikon speed light SB800 to get it off the camera..Just fyi this is Nikons answer for dedicated macro flash work, .. Try a flash light, I did that years back before I bought all the right gear

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/410481-USA/Nikon_4803_R1C1_Wireless_Close_Up_Commander.html