First HRD - Pseudo-Macro Poinsettia

[Jboy]

Well here's another shot at macro, and a first attempt at HDR. I'm pretty satisfied with it, but I couldn't get the colors to look the same in Photoshop and in the final JPEG for some reason... Quite frustrating.



Any crits (or tips for getting Photoshop color right) appreciated :D

[Murtasma]

I'm not sure using HDR was needed in a scene like this. There dosen't seem to be any area's in the photo that would benefit from it's effects. Have you tried just a single exposer and a curve adjustment instead? Also I think the forground is a little to much out of focus or you have to much out of focus forgroup. What were you trying con convey in the image? The center of the flower? The Petals? The entire flower?

What F Stop did you shoot at?

[aetnajojo]

Can you provide more details about the color difference? Are you talking about how it looks on the screen, or in print?

and

1. What photoshop version are you using?
2. What were the JPEG settings that you used in saving the file?

[Jboy]

Murtasma - I'm pretty sure you're right about HDR not being needed, but lighting at my place (especially in winter) is terrible. I tried single exposure, then just for the heck of it, HDR (which I wanted to try anyway for a while), and I preferred the contrast of the HDR renders. I have tried a curve adjustment, but usually it either darkens too much, or lightens too much, or adds too much contrast. Are there any tutorials for using it? My guess is that I'm just doing it wrong. On the other hand, are there any downsides to HDR, other than processing time?

Here are the two HDR renders (for comparison) and the original single exposure, if you think I could do something with that instead...?




I was trying to draw attention to the green buds in the middle of the red plant by using high contrast, but I guess it didn't work if you're asking. Would a deeper DOF or a higher zoom/tighter cropping have been better? All images were shot at f/7.1.


aetnajojo - I'm using Photoshop CS3. Here's a screencap so you can see the exact difference.



Basically, the image in the workspace is lighter (and warmer, I think) than the final image in the Save for Web preview or the final file, be it JPEG, PNG, or whatever. For now I zoom to 100% when I can, take a screenshot of the workspace, and then save that. Terrible for quality, I'm sure, but it's better than having the colors off. I always save the final JPEGs at 100% quality progressive.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Murtasma]

Thanks for the great response. Since your response was so great I'll take the time to make some recommendations to you but, I am at work right now. I get off in another hour or so then I'll hop online and read the post more carefully and take a look at your images.

Is it possible to bring an lamp over to the subject to light it better? I think this is where you really need to head with this.