Floral Technique

[JamesD]

I'm looking for a way to make a rose blue. I've thought about using a white rose in a vase with blue food coloring so it soaks up into the petals, but I'm not sure if that will work well. Anybody know of an effective technique for making the petals an unnatural color? I need a very intense blue, very high color saturation.

Thanks!

 

[Arch]

I'm guessing you may want to achieve the blue look before taking the shot with film..... as thats your kind of medium?
But if i wanted to do it... i'd use software..... If you have a photo of a white rose in photoshop..... it would just be a matter of using hue/saturation to change the white to an intense blue..... then use a layer mask to mask off the blue from the rest of the image.

If you wanted to set it up before the shot...... maybe a pot of blue ink?... then gently brush the ink on to the petals..... and shoot before the flower dies!

 

[Big Mike]

How about a white rose and lighting it with a blue light?

 

[KevinR]

I maybe wrong here, but isn't there a spray paint florists use sometimes? Might want to call a local florist.

 

[Digital Matt]

They sell oddly colored flowers at the grocery store by me, and I'm pretty sure that the color is in the flower itself, so they must be soaking it in food coloring, or some kind of dye, and letting the flower absorb it.

 

[rmh159]

I actually did this with a pic of a rose awhile ago. I shot it in B&W and then added the color by Overlaying a Layer in Photoshop. I did it that way to sample colors from another picture to ensure the pics matched but it worked a lot better than I had anticipated.

You could do the same technique but just use whatever shade of blue you're looking for.

 

[JamesD]

Thanks for the replys, everybody!

Unfortunately, photoshop is not an option. I'm working with film, in BW actually. I want the flower to be blue or green for the special effect I'm trying to accomplish. I think I'm going to consult with the florist, and probably try the soaking up of dye... if that doesn't work, then I'll try another option.

Thanks again!

 

[JamesD]

How about a white rose and lighting it with a blue light?

I thought about this in particular, since I'm planning to use spotlighting anyway. However, my lighting equipment is quite limited; it's going to be a challenge to get the spotlight effect as it is, and I don't have any blue filters.

 

[mysteryscribe]

make a funnel from a piece of poster board and tape it to the reflector for the lighting. I would go with spray paint. You really dont need it to absorb, coating would do fine i expect.

 

[JamesD]

Yep yep, that's what I was planning. I'll have to take a picture or two of the setup, so I can show off my high-tech, uber-expensive, top of the line studio setup.

In any case, I'm going to have to do this setup this weekend. The show is Saturday. I need prints. And I need matts. What can I say, I'm a procrastinator.

 

[mysteryscribe]

yes you are