A flower and a bee

[cindyg2024]

1.

2.

3.

 

[LaFoto]

Well, I cannot help myself: I just don't like the use of flash when you go photograph flowers ... though actually I don't like the use of on-camera flash AT ALL, full stop. (Period. For the Americans.)

I take it you are only at the beginning of your pursuit of photography as your hobby? You still very much centre your subjects ... all three photos shown here have the flower (or flower and bee) in the very centre of the frame. You will find out soon enough that the more you look at your photos the more boring they might seem to you, and it may then well have to do with their centredness. Out-of-center photos shift balances just so there is some more "tension" there and the viewer is captured more.

Of the three, I like the one of the bee best, though if that were mine, I'd work on it a little, first I'd crop out the overexposed, bright, quite distracting sky, then I'd crop in from one or the other side to regain my print size ratio, and then I'd look at the histogramme to find out there's a distinct lack in highlights, which I'd then add. That is what I would do. But I am myself and you are you and everyone should treat their photos so THEY are happy with them and not the others.

 

[cindyg2024]

Yes I am still very new and am trying to capture different images than just normal "candid" shots. I am still learning and still have a lot to learn. In the first picture I did not intend to use the flash and didn't realize the flash was set to "auto" until after I had snapped the picture.

I really do appreciate all the C&C and am looking forward to hearing more.

 

[Royster]

The flash was a bit harsh on the first photo. You could see the shadows that was developed because of it. I myself am having a hard time getting rid of the flash habit, I guess Im not confident with my aperture and shutter speed settings yet. Try shooting a single subject at diffrent settings without the flash & see what happens.

 

[cindyg2024]

LaFoto.... Does this look better? I was afraid to crop out too much more of the sky, but someone else is more than welcome to touch it up a bit more. Now, is there a way to sort of tone down the background so that the flower and bee stand out even more?

 

[LaFoto]

Well, I think it does!
How do YOU feel about your edit?

 

[cindyg2024]

I like it. Still would like to bring out the flower and bee just a little more though. I feel like it is "sinking" into the background.

 

[LaFoto]

Yes, I see this as a light balance problem: the background is still much brighter than your subject, which would have been ok if it had been a uniform background, like this, however, all that is going on in that (blurred) background does pull the eye away from your subject, for brightness ALWAYS attracts the eye more than dark elements. I do believe this is why you feel subject and background flow into each other. For also your eyes are invariably attracted more by bright parts.

What you still COULD try to do is to selectively lighten just flower and bee in focus (do you have PS? The well-feathered lasso tool might help you do the trick - outline flower and bee and then adjust the levels, once something is outlined, only THAT will be affected by the adjustments). You might want to try that, though it would always only be "doctoring" the photo.

It is easy to say "Next time when you shoot a bee..." and "...watch for the background". They are so fast, you are almost bound to only watch for the bee and your focus and that is about it. But ... you MIGHT still think about eliminating as much of the sky as can be next time?

 

[cindyg2024]

Unfortunately I don't have PS. I downloaded a free version of Serif (?) but I don't really know enough about all the tools to enhance it correctly yet. Thanks for the comments.