Cactus Bokeh CC pls

[Scout]

Experimenting with some new lighting ideas and was hoping get some feedback!

 

[Diver_matt]

I'm new here (and to photography) but I love it. I see a lot of C&C on here and when it's good, it's often just positive comments. care to share some technique tips? Much appreciated.

 

[tom_anderson18]

I like it, although I feel it may have been a tad dark in the bottom left corner and it appears to be rather soft.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

DOF is way (too) small in my opinion. Background is WAY busy! If that is what you were going for though...

 

[RyanSands]

Absolutely stunning photo! The exposure, crop, color, contrast...all spot on! I could see how some people would like more depth of field...but I'm in the camp that LOVES super shallow DOF lol...so I like it was the background bokeh added in post? How about the rim lighting on the cactus itself?

 

[ph0enix]

DOF is way (too) small in my opinion.

Agreed!

 

[jowensphoto]

DOF is way (too) small in my opinion.

^Agree. A slightly larger aperture would have had more of the cactus (your subject!) in focus.

At first I wasn't sure about the busy background, but it kind of reminds me of sand in an abstract way. It's a neat concept.

I'm assuming (can't seem to find EXIF data) you used the 50mm 1.8? I LOVE mine, and love the bokeh I get from it.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

More light on the dark side of the cactus and more focus on the cactus may render a nicer pic.

The bokeh is not round, stopping down a little may not only put more of the cactus in focus but also improve the bokeh.

 

[KmH]

Nothing in the image is sharply focused. Othes may want to note the aperture used was f/5 according to the EXIF data.

The bright arc of light is the primary subject in the image by dint of the implied motion of it's curve, it's brightness, and it's positioning in the frame. The two bright spots in the upper right corner draw the eye.

The hollywood bokeh is not round, making it appear nervous, jittery, and not very pleasant.

The image lacks balance and something else I can't quite put my finger on.

 

[Stanza]

I really loved it!!! Great job!!

 

[Rephargotohp]

So it's unanimous you should both close down and open up your aperture LOL

I like it, It's different, it shows a different eye. Is it perfect? Probably not, but it's fun, it's someone being creative

 

[ph0enix]

So it's unanimous you should both close down and open up your aperture LOL

I think jowensphoto meant higher f stop #, not larger aperture.

 

[jowensphoto]

Yep. Thank you! Lot of late nights as of recently, my brain is foggy.

 

[Scout]

Thanks for all of the input. The mixed reviews are interesting and helpful at the same time!

I will definitely try to play around with it again this weekend. The bokeh was not added in post. I put the cactus in front of a backlit window and sprayed the window with water. I was having problems with getting enough light to the front of the cactus. The pic was taken with my macro lens 100mm f/2.8 for those who are curious. Next time I think I will stop down more, refine the focus, maybe fire the flash (off camera) more than once and add a reflector... Yay for more experimenting!