Stimulating? Crop or clone?

[wulf]

Echinacea is widely regarded for both its beauty and its medical properties, including stimulating the immune system:



Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 1/320s
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 50mm (50mm f/1.8 E Series)
ISO Speed: 200

Overall I'm very pleased with this picture but slightly disappointed about that bright blob near the top. I haven't done any processing on this one but, if you did, do you think it would be better to crop that out (and change the composition) or clone it out. Or, of course, just leave it alone?

Wulf

[Jimv8]

Wulf
Love the flower, but you are right about the bright blob. It draws the eye away from the flower.
With my limited experience, I would clone it out as I believe that to crop it would change "tall" feeling that this photo coveys.
By the way, I loved the vw photo you posted and the posts that it generated were extremely interesting.

Jimv8

[Niresangwa]

I agree that the tall crop works well, as it does with most long-stemmed plants, so i'd try to preserve that.

Perhaps a combination of cropping halfway down the white blob, but also judicious cropping on the right side can maintain the perspective and composition? With the blobs glaring power then diffused somewhat, it may be less distracting?

If it still was a problem before I did more, I'd show the picture to someone who hadn't been mentally wrestling with the white blob..I know when I get attached to an idea like that, I can end up going too far to fix it when no one else really notices...

If they did, well, I'd clone a little bit to reduce it's size then darken it to dull it'd brilliance.

Hope that helps.

[pix_e_l8]

Hello Wulf,

What a lovely shot of a beautiful flower! Whenever possible, I like to clone out a distracting object so that I retain the option of cropping - or not. I've removed the white with the cloning tool and tried a slight crop and a drastic one, but went back to the cloning and boosted the saturation and contrast a bit - this is a preference thing, you may not like it, but it did seem to make the flower pop a bit more, which is what I am assuming is the ultimate goal, the beauty of the background speaks for itself.
I've included the cloned edit and the cloned with boosted colour/contrast and left the crop decision to you.
What was your intent when you were photographing these beauties? Were you capturing the flower and using the field as a background..or was it the field of them that inspired you, and the flower was included as reference and focal point...might answering the question of subject help you in the crop decision?
Take a break and then play with it, it looks great either way, it's all about what you like - have fun and good luck!

[sk66]

Crop, top and sides (mostly rt) to keep same aspect.

[PowerPix]

Dang, that is what Echinacea looks like?!?! I always thought these were neat flowers to photograph but I never knew it was Echinacea!!

[wulf]

Originally Posted by pix_e_l8

What a lovely shot of a beautiful flower! Whenever possible, I like to clone out a distracting object so that I retain the option of cropping - or not....

You've certainly done a neat job of the cloning. I like the colour boost on the flower although I think my preference would be to keep the green in the bottom right toned down; in truth, the original is underexposed and my best option would have been to find a slightly different viewpoint (avoiding the bright spot) and then drop the shutter speed a notch or two.

The intention was definitely to make the most of the foreground flower with the blurred background containing complementary shapes and colours.

Wulf

[pix_e_l8]

Originally Posted by wulf

You've certainly done a neat job of the cloning. I like the colour boost on the flower although I think my preference would be to keep the green in the bottom right toned down; in truth, the original is underexposed and my best option would have been to find a slightly different viewpoint (avoiding the bright spot) and then drop the shutter speed a notch or two.

The intention was definitely to make the most of the foreground flower with the blurred background containing complementary shapes and colours.

Wulf

Thanks for the cloning nod..I agree about the lower right green, an easy fix! I think that you have a great shot with some really interesting shapes (the second flower just behind the main subject is an eye catcher also). All around, sounds like your intent remains in tact and you've got some great ideas for a 'next time'! Again, nice work!

[windrider86]

My humble opinion, I'd crop it down. Having a tall crop just leaves too much space on top and will distarct from the focal point, which is the flower.

[wulf]

Originally Posted by windrider86

My humble opinion, I'd crop it down. Having a tall crop just leaves too much space on top and will distarct from the focal point, which is the flower.

That would lose the "spiral" though. Do you see the implied motion spiralling forward and ending at the subject flower?

Wulf