Sunday rose

[nagrotte]

I took this picture of rose in my front yard... It was a cloudy day and the rose was looking beautiful...pls critique for exposure and sharpness



Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 300 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias +1/3 EV
Flash No Flash

[GuitarGeek153]

I mean, in terms of sharpness, it is either sharp or it isn't. From the little I can tell from flickr, it isn't.

I would also argue this is underexposed and flat. The image doesn't catch my attention because the tones are just... blah

And in terms of color processing, I'd say this was a little on the warm side. I don't know the actual color of the background, but I'm assuming it was green, but you've made it a puke brown/green, and it isn't flattering. Cool off the temperature and the color balance should even out.

I suggest just cleaning it up in post processing and the picture could very well be as pretty as you say it was in real life.

[mapgirl]

I kind of like the warm tones. It feels like it was taken close to sunset on a warm summer day. A welcome image on this grey, cold winter's day! But it definitely could be sharper. What lens were you using? I know my Canon zoom 70-300 stays pretty soft at 300 but can be improved by stopping down to at least f/11.
If you were concerned about shutter speed, you might up your ISO so you could stop down more.
It also could be a touch brighter overall (at least, for me). Could you shoot at 200? Do you post-process at all? It's pretty easy to increase exposure there (and maybe a touch more contrast).

You've got a good eye for composition. Just play around with the ISO, speed, aperture combinations a bit more for each shot.

[nagrotte]

I kind of like the warm tones. It feels like it was taken close to sunset on a warm summer day. A welcome image on this grey, cold winter's day! But it definitely could be sharper. What lens were you using? I know my Canon zoom 70-300 stays pretty soft at 300 but can be improved by stopping down to at least f/11.
If you were concerned about shutter speed, you might up your ISO so you could stop down more.
It also could be a touch brighter overall (at least, for me). Could you shoot at 200? Do you post-process at all? It's pretty easy to increase exposure there (and maybe a touch more contrast).

You've got a good eye for composition. Just play around with the ISO, speed, aperture combinations a bit more for each shot.

Thanks "mapgirl". I really appreciate your comments and suggestions... really will help me...

[redartsjr]

I kinda like the photograph, I can almost smell the soft fragrance of the flower it self. And I like the idea that you included the little rose hip to the right of the frame. Very nicely done. Nice vibrant colors to. thank you for posting.
Rick

[nagrotte]

I kinda like the photograph, I can almost smell the soft fragrance of the flower it self. And I like the idea that you included the little rose hip to the right of the frame. Very nicely done. Nice vibrant colors to. thank you for posting.
Rick

Thanks a lot redartsjr...

[Biomech]

I like it, looks sharp on here, if it isn't you can tweak that with photoshop.
I think it looks good overall, but, personally, I'd loose the berry, it's a tad distracting

[nagrotte]

I like it, looks sharp on here, if it isn't you can tweak that with photoshop.
I think it looks good overall, but, personally, I'd loose the berry, it's a tad distracting

frankly I thought the berry was good for composition... since you all are saying it is distracting, I may have to eliminate it...will take care next time...I appreciate all your feedback...definitely learning!!!

[Trader]

To me, it looks like you focused on the front petal of the flower and with an Aperture setting of f/5.6 there was not enough depth of field for the petals farthest away to be as sharp. I agree with taking the berry out. It does not contribute much to the image.

You do have a good start and I think if you just increase your depth of field you'd have an even better photo.

[Roshenk]

First of all, I think the sharpness and focus are just fine. It looks to me like you dropped the focus point on the middle of the bloom which seems right to me. With that aperture, that meant the petals drifted in and out of your focal plane which also strikes me as quite acceptable. I am not of the school of thought that says a good macro has to have the entire subject in focus, as long as you choose what elements you want in focus.

I agree with your feeling that this is a strong composition...I like the branch providing a horizontal line through the shot and the berry gives it balance in my opinion, I don;t see it as a distraction. I am not fond of the crop, but I never much care for nonstandard ratios so that is a matter of personal taste.

The background is a great blur and I like the sort of green/brown shade it became, it gives a nice counterpoint to the vibrant color of the bloom.

Now, some advice...basically I would go in and make the stronger aspects of this shot even stronger. First in terms of the composition, if this is a crop from a larger image, I would adjust the angle so the branch is more horizontal and runs the length of the image. I would also try a slightly wider view, since the flower is so strong it could carry a lot of negative space which would make the shot more interesting.

Next, during PP i also try to let a macro shot tell me how it wants to be presented. In this case, I could see two directions.

First is go vintage, since the background has a wonderful antique feeling to it I would take it further...try the shot in a deep sepia, or a desaturated old-time look...or use the green/brown as a color guide and take the flower into more of an aged, brownish look.

Second, the composition feels to me very japanese so I would try some very clean post processing...some high key black and white or maybe using a high pass filter to make the flower stand out more, or using selective exposure control to focus the light on the bloom itself and take the background more into shadow....or vice versa.

This is an excellent shot as it is, but it still has a lot of potential and a lot of different things you can do with it. One of the beauties of a good macro shot is that you can use PP and cropping to create several different good shots out of a single strong frame.