First photoshop attempts

[Suzumushi]

Still no DSLR, but I did notice the other day that my old P&S has a macro setting. All these years I had that but only recently understood what it was! So I took a couple of shots of flowers and was surprised with the results. I had never been able to focus that close before and I think it did a decent job. The problem with this camera, though, is that the colors are consistently washed-out and have a bit of an orange tint. I tried to improve the pictures with photoshop based on some basic post-processing tutorials (and also an older photo) and here are the results:

Adjustments were levels, contrast, color balance, saturation, cropping, and sharpening (unsharp mask or high pass soft light overlay). I think I may have overdone the color balance and saturation trying to get some life into the dull shots that came directly out of the camera. The light behind the tree was way too strong and I didn't really know what I could do about that in PS. I also couldn't get a natural green in the moss without also tinting the bark. I guess creating a mask would help there?

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

[tirediron]

Nice images; C&C per req:
1. Nicely exposed, however moving alittle to your left would have allowed you to shoot more 'into' the bloom, capturing both and likely eliminating the somewhat distracting background.
2. Very nice, I like the perspective on this one.
3. Nice image, however the over-exposed highlights upper right detract somewhat. The best option here would likely have been an HDR merge because of the dynamic range involved. An adjustment layer on the bark would also have worked to allow you more selective colour control
All in all, well done especially with a P&S

 

[Suzumushi]

Thanks for your reply! The flowers I shot while I was walking to the store so I admit I didn't take a lot of time to compose the shots. I was fiddling with my camera and so surprised by the macro setting that I stopped briefly to snap these. Can someone explain HDR merge? If so I'll try it out.

 

[Bifurcator]

All nice... I like #2 allot!