Need good feedback

[ext41]

This is one of my first attempts to play with light and create different feeling for the picture. I would hope some constructive feedback and some ideas for future attempts. Darkened with photoshop and cut out the green bit.

Thanks already

[wulf]

Could you tell us a bit more about the camera and settings you used in this shot? Also, it looks very processed; it would be interesting to see the original for comparison.

As a macro shot, it falls down for me on the fuzziness of the image and I wonder what options you have for improving that.

Wulf

[graciousness]

+ 1 on the fuzziness.....did you use a tripod?

Also, the flower is floating in mid air - did you mean to take out the stem from the photo cause I think it needs it to give keep it 'grounded' and balanced.

It would be interesting to see how you've set up this shot because the lighting is not balanced on all sides. Not that I'm qualified to advise on that as I'm a beginner and don't use flash or any other lighting, but the light, regardless is still not balanced in my eyes. If it's this obvious to me, it would be very obvious to the seasoned pro's.

In regards to the angle - I think it would have been more interesting if it was shot more from the top so you can see more bloom. The lighting (and as effect, focus) on the bottom section of the petals doesn't do much for the subject.

Hope any of this helps.....I'm sure someone more qualified will jump in and give you more technical advice.

[ext41]

Thanks for the comments, and for the fuzziness i think it's cos of the internet resizing that made it ugly. I used a tripod multiple light sources and made tons of shots on that day, im not sure wheater it qualifies as macro, but i had no idea where else to put it. I have modified it with photoshop, contrast - color boost - sharpen etc. For the floating, i just thought it would give it some interesting flow + that stem is so ugly and it got huge reflection.

I attached the original photo and yes im still learning all the tricks of the trade, so bare with me.


nikon d3100
f/7.1
iso-400 (made a mistake there i know)
3 sec
DSC_0073.jpg

Here's another version of my attempt
light.jpg

Your thoughts?

[wulf]

I think that last one, with the rose in the bottom right, is better. It avoids the oddity of having it floating in a void; less competition for the twist that is the strange colours. I'm not sure the latter works that well (other than as an illustration of coloured shadows); perhaps a less sickly, contrasting colour would be better?

Try a similar shot with a smaller aperture (eg. f/16). You might as well drop the ISO down too and then compensate by giving as much exposure time as needed, since movement isn't an issue. That will give a greater depth of field and you should be able to get front and centre of the flower sharp (the fading out on the back edge isn't so distracting).

Wulf

[ext41]

Thanks for the advice, will surely try this again someday. Need to put attention to color saturation, so it wouldn't look so bland.

[graciousness]

Originally Posted by wulf

I think that last one, with the rose in the bottom right, is better. It avoids the oddity of having it floating in a void; less competition for the twist that is the strange colours. I'm not sure the latter works that well (other than as an illustration of coloured shadows); perhaps a less sickly, contrasting colour would be better?

Try a similar shot with a smaller aperture (eg. f/16). You might as well drop the ISO down too and then compensate by giving as much exposure time as needed, since movement isn't an issue. That will give a greater depth of field and you should be able to get front and centre of the flower sharp (the fading out on the back edge isn't so distracting).

Wulf

+1 on the bottom rose photo, much better!

At first, I thought that the type of rose you used is a hybrid with yellow/green on it, but then looking at your other photos, the green is not because it's part of the colour of the rose but an effect on either the lighting or post processing you've done. I wish I was more technically savvy with photography to advice how or why this would have happened, but all I can say is that I think you should ensure that you keep the colours of your flower/subject pure in shots like this.

Anyhoo, cheers and post us another photo in your next session!

[ext41]

Originally Posted by graciousness

+1 on the bottom rose photo, much better!

At first, I thought that the type of rose you used is a hybrid with yellow/green on it, but then looking at your other photos, the green is not because it's part of the colour of the rose but an effect on either the lighting or post processing you've done. I wish I was more technically savvy with photography to advice how or why this would have happened, but all I can say is that I think you should ensure that you keep the colours of your flower/subject pure in shots like this.

Anyhoo, cheers and post us another photo in your next session!

I had 3 types of lights in use that were green (main) red (side) and white (to brighten up the photo). Thanks for the input, i will try it again and post results to see if i have improved.