Flower

[OneArmedScissor125]

I want this photo to work so badly, but I just can't seem to find the right way to make it what I want. It seems grainy when larger, done through editing. I can't fix the small black part on the one petal because I still haven't mastered GIMP. I think it might look better as a black and white. Any advice would be helpful.

[mdwsta4]

at the moment, the flower looks soft and lacks much contrast. i, personally am not a fan of sephia, but that's just me.

i believe in another post you stated you were using a canon camera. in that case, you should have the included cds which contain digital photo professional to edit raw files and photostudio to do other minor adjustments.
i used the clone tool in photostudio to get rid of the black spots and adjusted the contrast/saturation in DPP.



it looks more like an old school photo with the grain, but with the image (and size) provided it's the best i could do in a sec. with the full sized image you should be able to edit the image much more successfully.

[tomw]

Additionally, you can use other programs other than GIMP, like Photoshop. I don't know GIMP because I tried it for a day and hated it. If photoshop feels better for you, they do have 30 day trials on most of their products at adobe.com

Anyway, i agree with what mdwsta4 said. His B&W version is better: theres more contrast and depth, and to me, the sepia takes away from the beauty of the form of the flower.

[OneArmedScissor125]

Cropped it tighter, with the original colors. Added a soft glow with Picasa. I think I'm going to shoot the same flower soon at a much lower ISO, because I'm still not pleased with the grainy quality of the photo. Any comments on this edit would be very welcomed.

[OneArmedScissor125]

Took the above edited photo and added a soft focus through GIMP. I used a glow with a small glow radius, full sharpness, and low brightness. I like the color of the flower in this edit better.