Peach Rose

[Thinking_Mommy]

Okay, so I am VERY amateur and I would love help in all areas of critique, time of day I should try, settings I should try, composition, etc!

Also, how can I bring more into focus? I seem to have this problem a lot!

[Saralonde]

I love taking pictures of roses, one of my favorite flowers in my garden. Generally when I do it, I get very close to the bloom, filling up the frame with the flower. That will put the emphasis on the flower and help you notice the waterdrops. If you had it in macro mode, try getting closer with your camera. As for focus, a lot of things can come into play. Too slow a shutter speed, a slight breeze moving the flower, camera shake (try using a tripod) are just a few of the things that can cause subjects to look OOF (out of focus). Here is an article at the dps blog that can help: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23733128@N00/

It really is a nice shot, though, and a beautiful subject. I'm glad you are joining us here and I look forward to seeing some more of your photographs .

[clockdoc]

Hi and welcome to the group. We are glad you joined. I think you posted a fine photo of the rose. I wasn't able to link to the larger image but the small image shows plenty of sharp detail. Can you tell us what camera/lens you used for the shot along with any of the technical details such as f/stop, shutter speed, ISO rating, etc? Tripod or handheld? Were you using the macro mode of your camera? Do you recall how far you were from your subject? Auto or manual focus? Lots of questions but filling in those blanks may help me to provide more accurate suggestions. You are off to a good start and I look forward to seeing more of your work. I'll be happy to help where I can.

[wulf]

I would be tempted to crop the image down to make the rose larger. Since it seems to be "looking" towards the bottom right, I would place it roughly at the top left intersection of a rule-of-thirds grid, as (quickly) illustrated in the attached file.

With a larger original, I would probably also want to make the rose fill even more of the frame, unless you are intending to use it as a backdrop for something like a greetings card, in which case you need room for the lettering.

Wulf

[Thinking_Mommy]

Originally Posted by clockdoc

Hi and welcome to the group. We are glad you joined. I think you posted a fine photo of the rose. I wasn't able to link to the larger image but the small image shows plenty of sharp detail. Can you tell us what camera/lens you used for the shot along with any of the technical details such as f/stop, shutter speed, ISO rating, etc? Tripod or handheld? Were you using the macro mode of your camera? Do you recall how far you were from your subject? Auto or manual focus? Lots of questions but filling in those blanks may help me to provide more accurate suggestions. You are off to a good start and I look forward to seeing more of your work. I'll be happy to help where I can.

Here is the info on what was used:

Exp: 1/60
F/stop: 2.8
ISO: 80
Max Aperture Value = F2.83
Metering Mode = CenterWeightedAverage
Focal Length = 6.3mm

I thought I used macro mode on this but apparently I did not. I have a macro mode on my camera (or 2 macromodes actually) but I also have additional lenses.

It was taken with my "play camera" which is a Kodak z740. Its my casual camera I take everywhere. I would love how to use it better! I have a higher pixel camera, but most of the higher pixel ones dont seem to have as many features for the prices Im looking at, KWIM?

[Thinking_Mommy]

Originally Posted by wulf

I would be tempted to crop the image down to make the rose larger. Since it seems to be "looking" towards the bottom right, I would place it roughly at the top left intersection of a rule-of-thirds grid, as (quickly) illustrated in the attached file.

With a larger original, I would probably also want to make the rose fill even more of the frame, unless you are intending to use it as a backdrop for something like a greetings card, in which case you need room for the lettering.

Wulf

Funny how some simple cropping can make it look so much better!

[Thinking_Mommy]

Originally Posted by Saralonde

I love taking pictures of roses, one of my favorite flowers in my garden. Generally when I do it, I get very close to the bloom, filling up the frame with the flower. That will put the emphasis on the flower and help you notice the waterdrops. If you had it in macro mode, try getting closer with your camera. As for focus, a lot of things can come into play. Too slow a shutter speed, a slight breeze moving the flower, camera shake (try using a tripod) are just a few of the things that can cause subjects to look OOF (out of focus). Here is an article at the dps blog that can help: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23733128@N00/

It really is a nice shot, though, and a beautiful subject. I'm glad you are joining us here and I look forward to seeing some more of your photographs .

Thank you for your comment!

[Thinking_Mommy]

How do you like this rendition?

[jiminyClickit]

Thinking_Mommy,

Now you're touching on my favorite view, where you can almost experience the scent. I could not appreciate your photo as much in the first presentation. This is almost edible. Smartly cropped. Thank you for working beyond the more "obvious" shot.

[clockdoc]

Thanks for the additional technical info on your photo of the rose. The Kodak Z740 seems to be a fine camera. By two macro modes were you referring to the wide angle setting as one mode and the telephoto setting as the second one? I found this info in a review of your camera:
The autofocus range is:

Normal: 24 inches (0.6 m) to infinity in wide angle, 6.6 ft. (2 m) to infinity in telephoto.
Macro close-up: 4.7 to 27.6 inches (0.12 to 0.7 m) in wideangle and from 3.9 to 6.9 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m) in telephoto

I did not see where you could focus manually. I appears that you shot this one in the wide angle setting. You will be pleased when you experiment with the macro mode in the telephoto setting (and all other focal lengths in between. By using a longer focal length setting you are putting more distance between you and the subject which may allow for greater depth of field depending on the aperture. Be sure to watch the minumum focusing distances for tele-macro work. Try using aperture priority with an f/stop of around f/5.6. Some lenses are not necessarily their sharpest fully stopped down and I don't know the reason for this. Don't be afraid to increase your ISO to get a reasonable shutter speed (1/125 and above) to minimize subject movement from a breeze. If "noise" becomes a problem, it can be reduced in post processing. Hope this helps. I look forward to seeing more of your work.