iris in the rain

[crockny]

Well, I'm getting better but this macro stuff is a bear ... I used a tripod and got rained on a bit. This is uncropped and I just can't get comfortable with any crop. Also in post processing it seems greener than I intended. Also not happy with the black background but the real background is too busy. Any suggestions? It seems like good material but it just sits there ...



Not sure why my EXIF info is not showing up in Flickr - I think maybe I did a "save to web" straight from the PSD ...

Anyway it was something like f32, very slow shutter speed (it was dark and rainy) at 800 ISO ...

[dlambert]

It's a nice shot, but it seems sort of disconnected with no background at all. The black background makes the flower pop out well, but it feels really cold. I'm also not sure I'm happy about having petals cut off on three of four sides. I think the real solution here might be to try composing with a background that gives the flower some sort of setting.

[crockny]

The issue with macro seems to be that at F32 you don't get a blurred background, but you need the DOF to get the whole flower! What to do ...

I agree, it feels cold ...

[highlydope]

Why not drop in a background image with bokeh?

[crockny]

I guess I should keep a file with background-worthy images ... I read that somewhere ... yes, sometimes the solid black doesn't work so well and some variation makes it look better ... good idea.

[DanielLane]

the background is totally the issue. It needs something... What was the background? It looks like you took the time to make the background black, meaning you already have the masking ready to go. So why not treat the existing background in PS. blur,defocus, treat light levels or whatever it takes to make it work. It's a nice flower shot and everything, but like someone else said, it's just floating there. no setting or anything. What lens did you shoot it with? DO you know how close you can get with the lens and still pull a focus?

[crockny]

I could have gotten closer - it was a macro 100mm - just difficult conditions and I got tired ... I think I will try what you said about the background ... will look more natural ... thanks!