What did I do right? (Flower photo)

[NetG]

I mostly take photos of concerts, and am learning to use my new dSLR (Canon T1i) right now. But I have this photo from a little over a month ago, taken with my point and shoot in the rainforest exhibit of the chocolate museum in Cologne, GE. I want to learn more about landscapes, flowers, etc. I don't know why I absolutely adore this photo - so I'm hoping for input as to what I did technically correct so I can do it in the future, too! (Besides the obvious - it's a pretty flower. Subject always helps!)


Taken on a Canon S5 IS
1/60 exposure
f/5.0
24.5mm focal length
ISO 400
No flash
Manual mode/focus

[Aegea]

I'd say:

Composition is good
DOF is great and focus is right on
Background is uncluttered and makes the flower pop out
Exposure is accurate
Not overprocessed.

Very nice photo.

Cheers,

John

[OsmosisStudios]

Focus is spot on, and the photo is sharp. Technically, very nice. Aesthetically, however, I find it a little lacking. The background is too sharp: it detracts from the photo. Something more like f/2.8 or f/2 would have been better. Would have also allowed you to drop that ISO a bit AND up the shutterspeed. The flower itself would likely be better viewed from a more top-down perspective, but this is a nice change.

Had the background been fully blurred by DoF, I think it would have made a much better image. I'd also have been tempted to zoom in more, just a bit.

[NetG]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Focus is spot on, and the photo is sharp. Technically, very nice. Aesthetically, however, I find it a little lacking. The background is too sharp: it detracts from the photo. Something more like f/2.8 or f/2 would have been better. Would have also allowed you to drop that ISO a bit AND up the shutterspeed. The flower itself would likely be better viewed from a more top-down perspective, but this is a nice change.

Had the background been fully blurred by DoF, I think it would have made a much better image. I'd also have been tempted to zoom in more, just a bit.

Thankfully I now have a dSLR so for future photos I can have a more blurred background... That was about as blurred as a background gets for most point and shoots!

As for zoom - I can try cropping it some, but I think I actually like it the way it is. That's what makes photography art, though - different opinions from different folks, right?

Originally Posted by Aegea

I'd say:

Composition is good
DOF is great and focus is right on
Background is uncluttered and makes the flower pop out
Exposure is accurate
Not overprocessed.

Very nice photo.

Cheers,

John

Thanks! I actually don't think I did any post-processing. I rarely do, because, mostly, I'm lazy... If I'm going to print something I may, of course, if it helps.

BTW - are you John I know from Carbon Leaf by any chance?

[Aegea]

NetG - no, sorry, not that John.

That's a nice crisp shot for no pp. There are so many oversaturated, oversharp, unnatural images that it's refreshing to see one that's a bit understated (IMHO).

[cazacharias]

Firstly I like the photo just as it is.

Second, to offer some advice, what I would change is the background around the flower. It is a little too bright from the reflection from the light behind it. To make the flower stand out the contrast needs to be there between the subject and the background.

Others commented of Dof, and that is part of it, but even if that didn't play into it, moving around when composing the shot to eliminate the glare from the leaves would have improved the shot.

I still like it the way it is though!!

[EmigrantChris]

I really like this shot. The DOF is good, and the focus is great. As mentioned, the background is still pretty focused, but I think it works since it isn't busy, and is pretty much a solid color & pattern.

The only thing that is somewhat distracting is the dark corner in the bottom left, and on the right. Those are very minor to me though, and don't really detract from the composition very much. Overall, I think it's quite good, and something that I'd be proud of taking.

[e.link]

hello everyone...am a newbie here...i go by the name e.link...though am not expert on photography but i can say that it is a nice picture...the flower was shot on focused and the flower is beautiful...you're right the subject really helps..two thumbs up!

[conceptphotos]

I would have to agree that the focus is great the exposure is good. However I am not sure about the composition and the depth of field. I feel that the background is distracting from the image with out contributing anything. I also feel that putting the flower in the middle of the frame does nothing for the image either. This is definitely not a bad photo these are just suggestions to make it better. Take what you want from this. Here is an example of what you could have done maybe not better bu on the way. [IMG][/IMG]