critique please

meotter · Jun 8, 2006

i think it's about as good as i can get it, but i'm sure there is more that can be done. no need to pull punches, i have thick skin

TIA
Mike

tehbuffalo · Jun 8, 2006

Its a great pic! but I just don't like pictures that focus on flowers alltogether.

Jake

meotter · Jun 8, 2006

i just read the posting guidelines a bit, and it's a little different then when i was here last, so let me fill in some missing details.

i shot this with a rebel xt at F/5, 1/500 sec, 150mm focal length, iso 200, i was in hawaii on vacation and just thought it looked nice. this is probably one of my favorite pics of all the ones i took on vacation, due to the colors. I've already cropped the original a little bit and adjusted some of the levels to give it a little more pop and remove a yellowish tinge that the image had.

OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE OTE....

i'm not very good with PS, so i'm sure there is more that can be done with it, but perhaps it's just not as good as i think it is.

I'm basically just looking to see what other people would do with this photo. would it help if i posted the original?

alisonboland · Jun 9, 2006

Hey there,

I hope you dont mind me editing your pic. This is my version (very quick edit.

A few things i did to your image:

1. I felt your image was a tad soft, wondered where exactly the focus point was on the flower. So i used an unsharp mask.

2. Th epoint of interest is the flowers. Last thing you want is any distracting highlights or objects in the background. You obviously didnt want the background since you used shallow depth of field. In addition, in photoshop i created an addjusted curve layer and basically made the background darker while leaving the flowers intact.

3. One of the nice features of the flowers is the hint of yellow. I created an addjusted contrast layer to bring out the yellow in the flower.

I'm only a beginner i'm afraid

i hope this helps.

markc · Jun 9, 2006

I agree that the image is a little soft. I think Alison tried her best, but you should go back and apply the sharpening to the original. This is one of the reasons I don't suggest shooting in JPG. When you sharpen, you also sharpen the artifacts.

mysteryscribe · Jun 9, 2006

Oh goody I get to be the odd man out again...

For what it is (flowers yuck) I thought the original was just fine. Dead sharp is over rated in my opinion. Take a look at some of the, supposedly, great classical painters.

Or better still the dead sharp portrait of a woman over forty. No thanks...

markc · Jun 9, 2006

Soft focus can be nice, but my personal taste is less than a lot of people's. Here, my eyes start to water trying to bring it into focus.

I don't think it needs a lot, but some around the edge to separate it from the background would be nice.

mysteryscribe · Jun 9, 2006

background seperation is always a good thing and one thing sharp edges do is give a faux 3d impression. I like that a lot.

DaphneOracle · Jun 10, 2006

I have to say that I really the original edit best although not sure why, I just like the added space. My eye was immediatly drawn to the dead/dying bloom at about the 2 o'clock position. Maybe another flower or just pluck it out.

The dof is perfect as far as I am concerned.

meotter · Jun 10, 2006

thanks for the input guys. i have no clue about that unsharp mask thing i keep reading about in other posts, but i can see your point about the additional contrast it adds.

i appreciate the comments and compliments, keep them coming

unfortunately, i couldn't pluck out the dead flowers as they were about 7 feet above my head

i didn't even think i'd like this shot as much as i did, til i got home and saw it on the larger monitor. had i known i would have liked it so much, i would have shot more versions of it

chroix · Jun 12, 2006

great shot. a little blown out in the highlights.. but real nice. love the background

Fredlysning · Jun 12, 2006

I like this photo very well. Great colors. But i think the background became to sharp. I felt the flowers disappeared in the background

olga · Jun 16, 2006

i like it.
i would maybe crop a little.
the left side.
maybe.
is it taken in a room?
or in a garden?
i cannot determine the nature of light?
?

bogleric · Jun 16, 2006

I do prefer the image with less of a background. This forces the focus on the flowers while before I found myself roaming around the image.

meotter · Jun 18, 2006

olga, this is taken outside at the beach shooting upwards... it's hanging from a tree... the slight blue you see in the background is sky. i forget the time of day... i think morning.

bogleric, you find your eye roaming around my image or alison's?