3.26. Fine art flowers

As still-life subjects, flowers are perfect. Photographers have many different reasons for selecting them: some photojournalists have turned to still life after one war experience too many; Imogen Cunningham shot flowers throughout her 80-year career; and, springing from Warhol's avant garde New York scene, Robert Mapplethorpe produced erotic flower portraits to complement his controversial nudes.

In black and white or color, many of the flower photographs of the 1970s and 1980s were lit softly from the front. Often the image was cropped down to just the stem and flower, and sometimes the stamen was suggestively prominent. The backgrounds were usually quite plain, although some featured angled light and shadows. They were typically in a square format.

For this project the setup was very basic, comprising a kitchen table, mid-afternoon light, and a newspaper to reflect light back into the shadows. The curtains behind the flowers became a simple background that could be easily altered in Photoshop.

Give yourself plenty of room to work by fitting the image to the window with Ctrl/Cmd + 0, and then zooming out a little with Ctrl/Cmd + -. Double-click the image layer thumbnail in the Layers palette, activate the Crop tool (C), and drag it in a single mouse action so the entire image canvas is selected. Drag the rightcenter handle while holding down the Alt/Opt key, extending both the left and right sides of the canvas. Pull the top-center handle upward until you have a rough square, and double-click the image to apply the changes. To make the canvas perfectly square, activate the Crop tool again and hold down the Shift key as you drag across the image. Using these two steps prevents you from having to go through the menus. Duplicate the image layer using Ctrl/Cmd + J and add a new layer beneath it. This layer will later contain color, but for now fill it with white using Edit > Fill. The more care you take to shoot the subject against a contrasting background, the easier it will be to select and eliminate the background. In this image the background is all a similar color, so use Select > Color Range and click a background color pixel. Use the Shift and Alt/Opt keys to add to or subtract from the selection. Setting Selection Preview to Quick Mask is usefulhere, the red in the top right corner indicates that some pixels have been missed. When the selection is as accurate as possible, use Select > Feather (Alt/Opt + Ctrl/Cmd + D) and soften its edge by 1 or 2 pixels. Invert the selection using Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + I, and click the "Add layer mask" icon in the Layers palette. There will always be pixels such as those around the stamen that need to be cleaned up by painting the layer mask with white or blackzoom right in and take your time. Once the flower is perfectly cut out, most of the work is done. Activate the White layer and select the Gradient tool. Set the foreground and background colors to two shades of the same color and drag so the top is darker than the bottom. Experiment as much as you likethese two reds look good, but cooler blues are even better. To change the flower's color, hold Alt/Opt as you click the "Create a new layer" icon in the Layers palette. Set the blending mode to Color. Make sure the Flower color layer is at the top of the layer stack. Without activating that layer, Ctrl/ Cmd + click its layer mask. This loads it as a selection. Next, click the "Add layer mask" icon. The Flower color layer mask makes painting a new color much more accurate. Paint around the petals with black to complete the mask (going over the stem and stamen, as we don't wish to color them). Click the thumbnail of the Flower color layer so the image (not the mask) is active, and paint with a color onto the layeryou don't need to be too precise as the mask prevents color going into the wrong place. Because the layer blending mode is Color, the underlying image shows through. You can also change the layer opacity. FINISHING TOUCHES Finishing touches might include applying Filter > Render > Lighting Effects to the Gradient layer. Make it look as if a spotlight is raking across the background at an angle. As a finishing touch, add some geometric shapes using the Shape tool. Use colors that are already contained in the Gradient layer to create a subtle oriental feel. Adding graphic shapes behind the flower gives this image a Japanese flavor.