Steve'sDigicams

aladyforty · Apr 20, 2005, 10:24 AM

Opinions welcome

vIZnquest · Apr 20, 2005, 11:37 AM

This is a tough color to photograph.

The softness works very well here and the edge sharpness of the flower is nice.

The lighting and DOF is very good as well.

I did find the white corner tabs to be a bit distracting at first.

RodneyBlair · Apr 20, 2005, 9:45 PM

I'm reluctant to critique the works of others on here anymore because most participants here seem to be a bit more sensitive than what I am familiar with. I try to present my critiques in a direct manner without sugarcoating so my message will have more impact. I can clearly see you've found a subject to practice with and you are attempting to improve your skills.

The presentation is somewhat out of context for me and would ruin the image regardless of how good it is. The framing you've selected presents a picture in a photo album. Sure, some people place their landscapes and flora in albums, but that isn't generally how these images are displayed. The white corners are also distractions. Once upon a time, all images were printed with white borders and the corners would have not been the distraction they are here.

You've managed to capture some nice colors here, but at the same time you've lost lots of detail. Some of the softness is due to DOF or focus issues, but most is due to the lack of contrast. Some flowers are more transparent than others which allow the light to pass through. When this happens, you lose detail. Of course, this can also be a nice creative effect. Try shooting this flower a few minutes after sunrise or when the sun is setting. Shoot from the side that the light is hitting. Here, you've shot from the shadow side of the flower.

If you will rework your original, I think you can improve what you have. It looks like you have over sharpened to pull out more detail. Adjust your contrast by applying the curves and then do a levels adjustment. Move both ends of the slider in about 15 points. Once you've gotten as much detail as possible from increasing the contrast, run USM the max amount you can without creating halos. You should only need to increase the strength and radius. Size the image down and USM again if needed, but this time lower the values. You'll have to play with the values and each time examine the image for halos and distracting jaggies.

You've been improving so don't begin to stress. The better you get, the more everyone will expect from you. This image is actually executed well considering the angle of light on the flower. I've cropped and edited to get as much as I can out of it. The compression was a bit heavy so that makes it more difficult. Experiment with different crops.

Thank you for sharing.

Rodney

ThomasATC · Apr 20, 2005, 11:15 PM

Very nice picture Alady. Great colors to work with!

Excellent edit Rodney!

Thomas.

Canna W · Apr 21, 2005, 4:49 AM

Really helpful to see this crit Rodney. Thanks. (& nice to see such a gorgeous flower Julie....)

Canna

aladyforty · Apr 21, 2005, 8:43 AM

thanks, I have no problem with anyone truthfully giving me an opinion on a shot, especially if it helps. Although I like this shot I just cant seem to get it right, it almost looked 3 dimensional in the original.

RodneyBlair · Apr 21, 2005, 11:03 AM

aladyforty wrote:

Quote:

thanks, I have no problem with anyone truthfully giving me an opinion on a shot, especially if it helps. Although I like this shot I just cant seem to get it right, it almost looked 3 dimensional in the original.

The EXIF data is missing from the image you've posted here. What were the camera settings and what lens are you using for this shot. It looks like you are using a long tele lense??

Rodney

VTphotog · Apr 21, 2005, 1:30 PM

I think you have a very nice photo here, but it could perhaps be improved. My thought was that the light on the trumpet part of the blossom could be brighter in relation, giving it some of the glow effect of the inside. The best way, of course, would be to re-shoot with the light from the left, or have an assistant spotlight the base of the flower.

Here is my attempt at illustrating the effect.

brian

aladyforty · Apr 21, 2005, 8:27 PM

RodneyBlair wrote:

Quote:

aladyforty wrote:

Quote:

thanks, I have no problem with anyone truthfully giving me an opinion on a shot, especially if it helps. Although I like this shot I just cant seem to get it right, it almost looked 3 dimensional in the original.

The EXIF data is missing from the image you've posted here. What were the camera settings and what lens are you using for this shot. It looks like you are using a long tele lense??

Rodney

I cant find the original, Ive gone through my disks and Im wondering if I deleted it now:roll:, I do remember that I took this while shooting birds and the camera had a 300 lens on and was set at F8 and 400 ISO. This is closer to the original but I think I had put it through neat image to the data is missing. No sharpening was done on this image.

The flower seemed to have light coming out of it which is what drew my attention.

I don't normally shoot flowers with this lens but I have a few shots where I have and they are not too bad.

Apr 20, 2005, 9:45 PM	#3
RodneyBlair Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 966	I'm reluctant to critique the works of others on here anymore because most participants here seem to be a bit more sensitive than what I am familiar with. I try to present my critiques in a direct manner without sugarcoating so my message will have more impact. I can clearly see you've found a subject to practice with and you are attempting to improve your skills. The presentation is somewhat out of context for me and would ruin the image regardless of how good it is. The framing you've selected presents a picture in a photo album. Sure, some people place their landscapes and flora in albums, but that isn't generally how these images are displayed. The white corners are also distractions. Once upon a time, all images were printed with white borders and the corners would have not been the distraction they are here. You've managed to capture some nice colors here, but at the same time you've lost lots of detail. Some of the softness is due to DOF or focus issues, but most is due to the lack of contrast. Some flowers are more transparent than others which allow the light to pass through. When this happens, you lose detail. Of course, this can also be a nice creative effect. Try shooting this flower a few minutes after sunrise or when the sun is setting. Shoot from the side that the light is hitting. Here, you've shot from the shadow side of the flower. If you will rework your original, I think you can improve what you have. It looks like you have over sharpened to pull out more detail. Adjust your contrast by applying the curves and then do a levels adjustment. Move both ends of the slider in about 15 points. Once you've gotten as much detail as possible from increasing the contrast, run USM the max amount you can without creating halos. You should only need to increase the strength and radius. Size the image down and USM again if needed, but this time lower the values. You'll have to play with the values and each time examine the image for halos and distracting jaggies. You've been improving so don't begin to stress. The better you get, the more everyone will expect from you. This image is actually executed well considering the angle of light on the flower. I've cropped and edited to get as much as I can out of it. The compression was a bit heavy so that makes it more difficult. Experiment with different crops. Thank you for sharing. Rodney Attached Images

Apr 21, 2005, 1:30 PM	#8
VTphotog Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Extreme Northeastern Vermont, USA Posts: 4,309	I think you have a very nice photo here, but it could perhaps be improved. My thought was that the light on the trumpet part of the blossom could be brighter in relation, giving it some of the glow effect of the inside. The best way, of course, would be to re-shoot with the light from the left, or have an assistant spotlight the base of the flower. Here is my attempt at illustrating the effect. brian Attached Images

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Apr 20, 2005, 10:24 AM	#1
aladyforty Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 6,964	Opinions welcome

Apr 20, 2005, 11:37 AM	#2
vIZnquest Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 2,974	This is a tough color to photograph. The softness works very well here and the edge sharpness of the flower is nice. The lighting and DOF is very good as well. I did find the white corner tabs to be a bit distracting at first.

Apr 20, 2005, 11:15 PM	#4
ThomasATC Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 116	Very nice picture Alady. Great colors to work with! Excellent edit Rodney! Thomas.

Apr 21, 2005, 4:49 AM	#5
Canna W Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,038	Really helpful to see this crit Rodney. Thanks. (& nice to see such a gorgeous flower Julie....) Canna

Apr 21, 2005, 8:43 AM	#6
aladyforty Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 6,964	thanks, I have no problem with anyone truthfully giving me an opinion on a shot, especially if it helps. Although I like this shot I just cant seem to get it right, it almost looked 3 dimensional in the original.