Flowering Shrub Critique

[porkchop_express]

Hello all! This is my first posting. I am very new to photography in general, but I am eager to learn. I took this shot in my back yard. It's some sort of flowering shrub although I do not know what kind. I am looking for criticism concerning the composition,specifically if I made the right decision to focus most of the flower grouping or if it would have paid dividends to try to focus an individual flower, but anything constructive is welcome. It also looks a bit underexposed to me, but when I play with the levels, I blow out the whites fairly quickly, so any advice there would be helpful, as well. Thanks so much!



Exif:
Camera model: FinePix S100FS
Resolution: 1195 x 1187
Flash: Not Used
Focal Length: 10.2mm
Exposure: 1/500
Aperture: f/3.1
ISO: 200

[Trader]

Hi and welcome to the forum. That is a nice macro shot of a cluster of flowers. Composition is fine. There isn't much other processing you can do with this image to change it. If you look at a histogram of the tonality there is a small part on the far right (light tones) that has no data but overall it looks good.

[porkchop_express]

Hi Trader,
Thanks so much for your input. I have been reading this forum for a few weeks now and it truly is a gem of information because of people like you! These were tiny little buggers and the the blooms sit far out on the branches, so the tiniest breeze would send them swaying. I am quickly learning that photography (much like parenthood) teaches patience.

[AnnaV]

I'd say play with the curves a bit as the whites look a bit grey. Lovely composition and nice and sharp though

[porkchop_express]

Thanks Anna! Per your suggestion, I've tweaked the curves a smidge. The top flowers are a little blown out, but I think it's a trade off, at this point (I'm definitely learning as I go about PP). As before, criticism is welcome. Thanks again.

[jiminyClickit]

porkchop_express, Welcome

One thing about cropping - if you make a more definite cut, or leave a little more room than you did, it will display your subject better. Here there's nothing on the right or bottom that adds to your image. When I remove that 1/4 of the photo, the other blooms get more attention and the individual blossoms are a little larger.

Adding a layer in post processing to Sharpen and get Contrast while Lightening the petals a little helps too. A touch of Saturation brings the yellow in the centers out.

[porkchop_express]

Thank you, Jiminy, for your detailed and thoughtful critique. I see how the flowers are much more interesting after your crop. I added some saturation and contrast to help the blooms stand out more, as per your suggestion and I am pretty happy with the result.

[jiminyClickit]

Much better, consistent white. It isn't so hard to get good white shots, just takes some patience to make adjustments and not lose the detail. This one looks good.