Floating Violet

I was actually out in the forest for a walk, simply trying to slow down a little and enjoy being outside.
To be honest, what first caught my attention wasn't this flower at all. It was an old pile of decomposing wood covered in moss. As I got closer to take a look, I noticed hundreds of these tiny violet flowers growing all around it.
What immediately attracted me to this particular flower was its simplicity. The bright yellow center contrasted beautifully with the violet petals, and I felt there was an opportunity to create something dreamy by paying as much attention to the background as the flower itself.
That's how Floating Violet came to life.

[SCENE SETUP]
A tiny violet flower (1) growing beside an old pile of decomposing wood covered in moss. Steel wool (3) was placed several inches behind the flower to create dreamy out-of-focus highlights and add atmosphere to the background.

[LIGHT PLACEMENT]
(2) amaran Ace 25c (left side)
Placed on the left side of the flower and fitted with a grid attachment. This became the primary light source and established the overall direction of light while keeping the background dark.
(4) amaran Ace 25c (background)
Placed behind the subject and aimed toward the steel wool (3). A greenish-blue color was selected to create cooler background tones and add contrast to the flower.
(5) Adaptalux Flexible LED Light (top left atmosphere light)
Positioned close to the moss in the background to mimic sunlight entering from the upper left corner of the frame. This created warm yellow-green highlights and illuminated the steel wool, producing brighter out-of-focus highlights that added atmosphere to the scene.
(6) Adaptalux Flexible LED Light (right side)
Placed on the right side of the flower to gently illuminate a few petals and create subtle separation without affecting the background.

[KEY SETTINGS]
f/2.8 · 1/200s · ISO 100
~70 images captured
~35 images used in final stack
Underexposed by ~3 stops

[INTENT]
Create a dreamy and atmospheric portrait where the background contributes just as much to the image as the flower itself.

[KEY IDEA]
Sometimes the background is just as important as the subject.

Before / After

Explanation

Although the flower is the main subject, this image is really about atmosphere.
The violet petals and yellow center provide a natural color contrast, but the surrounding lighting transforms the scene into something far more dreamlike. The cool blue-green highlights balance the warm yellow tones while the steel wool creates layers of soft bokeh that help the flower feel suspended in space.
The result is an image that feels much larger than the subject itself.

Gear Used

– Canon R5
– Canon RF 100mm Macro
– amaran Ace 25c (x2)
– Adaptalux Flexible LED Light (x2)
– Steel Wool
– Tripod

Settings

Camera: Canon R5
Lens: Canon RF 100mm Macro
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/200s
ISO: 100
Focus stacking: ~35 images used
Focus Bracketing: ~70 images captured

Breakdown

I started by composing the flower against a darker background and underexposing the scene by approximately three stops. This allowed me to remove much of the ambient light and create room for the artificial lighting.
The first light I introduced was the amaran Ace 25c (2) placed on the left side of the flower. Using a grid attachment allowed me to focus the light precisely on the flower without affecting the background.
At this point, I already liked the subject, but I felt the image needed more atmosphere.
To create that atmosphere, I placed steel wool (3) several inches behind the flower and introduced a second Ace 25c (4) fitted with a grid. After experimenting with different colors, I settled on a greenish-blue tone that illuminated the steel wool and created the cool highlights visible in the background.
Next, I added a flexible LED light (6) from the right side. This light was used very subtly to illuminate a few petals and create additional separation from the darker background.
The final piece of the puzzle was an Adaptalux Flexible LED Light (5) placed close to the moss in the upper left portion of the scene. I wanted it to feel like sunlight was entering the frame from above, creating warm yellow-green highlights in the background. It also picked up parts of the steel wool and created brighter out-of-focus highlights that helped balance the cooler tones throughout the image.
Once the lighting felt balanced, I used the camera's focus bracketing feature and captured approximately 70 images at the smallest focus increment setting. During processing, I selected roughly half of those images and stacked about 35 exposures to achieve sharpness throughout the flower while keeping the background soft and dreamy.
Before packing everything away, I also photographed the scene without any steel wool or artificial lighting so I could compare the two versions. The difference clearly demonstrated how underexposing first and selectively rebuilding the light can completely transform a scene.

Quick Tip

When focus stacking flowers with very thin stems, don't watch the camera — watch the subject.
Even the slightest movement caused by wind can ruin an entire stack. If the flower begins to sway during the sequence, it's often better to stop and wait for calmer conditions than to discover the problem later in post-processing.

Final Thoughts

What I love about this image is that I probably would have walked right past this flower if I hadn't stopped to take a closer look at the old pile of wood nearby. The flower itself is tiny and easy to miss, but once I started paying attention to the background and building the light around it, it became something completely different.
It's a good reminder that you don't always need to travel far or find a rare subject to create an interesting image. Sometimes you just need to slow down a little.

Watch the process