Beginners photography - Flowers and PP - C&C solicited

[chetanls]

I am reaching out again with my next set of photos - this time, of flowers, and am specifically seeking comments on the post-processing done. I have used different blend-modes: overlay, multiply, screen...some gaussian blur, etc. My self-criticism at the bottom of this post, in case you want to look at what I think myself

1)

2)

3)

My self-criticism: having discovered the power of Photoshop, I certainly think I have gone overboard!...

 

[WimFoto]

3 is your strongest out of these. well composed and exposed. :thumbup:

My self-criticism: having discovered the power of Photoshop, I certainly think I have gone overboard

perhaps you did that on 1. for the others i disagree with you. as a matter of fact, it's hard to tell you did any pp on them.

perhaps you can reduce the size of your name on the photos and place them more discreetly.

 

[bigtwinky]

I do not like #1. The whites are really bright/blown out, which becomes more of an eye sore.
I also dont like the composition of the image, its too center positioned. Instead of being straight on for the shot, might be interesting to be a bit higher up looking down, a bit closer in.

I really like the concept of #2, well thought out. I find the blur is not consistent throughout the image, in some cases its not enough (lower right) and in others is a bit too much (upper left) that it gets odd.
In terms of composition and shooting, I would of liked to see more of the right most wheat thing, you cut off just enough for it to disturb the image IMO.

3 is very well done, and the best of the set. I like the composition in this one and the lighting is great. Processing is not too much for my tastes. Nice job

 

[Pugs]

1) Blown out whites. I love the soft-textured, dark background, though! I think I'd like it with more negative space above the flower and wee-bit less to right of the flower. I also find that bright green/yellow leaf in the lower right to be distracting.

2) Again, I love that soft background. Wonderful. Compositionally, I'd feel better about this pic with more negative space across the top and possibly cropping out the stalk of wheat (?) on the far right. Crop that out and the dark one that's currently just to the right of center will lead the eye gently to the edge of the frame.

3) Once more, lovely background. I'm a bit torn as to where to look on this one. I feel like the red flower is supposed to be the subject, but I find myself looking at the brighter yellow leaves instead.

Very nice work, as a whole!

Maybe you could describe why/how you think you went overboard with the post-processing.

 

[chetanls]

@WinFoto, @bigtwinky, @Pugs - BIG thank you for your valuable comments. Especially the composition tips...

The reason I felt I have over-used post-processing is that:
#1: Very high contrast (I think I used multiply-mode on blending duplicate layers); I should have perhaps applied a mask on the whites and brought it back to its original color. That way, the background would have gone dark and the flower will have retained some details.
#2: I used gaussian blur on a duplicate layer and then screen-ed it to retain some of the sharpness of the original layer - thought this will give a dreamy effect. I liked the PP on this one though
#3: I think I used the multiply-mode while blending a duplicate layer. I liked the play of light on this photo. The use of some artistic effect has resultedin making this image more of a calendar-background, but I have lost the impact of a real photo...hence making it look a little artificial

Sadly, I lost my original photographs and am left with only the PP ones!

 

[WimFoto]

Sadly, I lost my original photographs and am left with only the PP ones!

sorry to hear that.
i make it a rule to put all my raw files on a cd as well as on my hard drive before i start editing.

 

[bigtwinky]

Sadly, I lost my original photographs and am left with only the PP ones!

All the reason to try and head back, with new ideas in mind, and shoot them again

 

[Pugs]

Sadly, I lost my original photographs and am left with only the PP ones!

All the reason to try and head back, with new ideas in mind, and shoot them again

+1 Never anything wrong with re-shooting if you have the opportunity to!