Looking for Constructive Criticism on Close Ups

[cheriserandle]

As you can see on the first one, the outside of the flower is kind of sticking into the shot. It feels kind of weird, but still kind of good. suggestions?


Flower Near the Library by Genius Central Ink, on Flickr

I was trying to use the rule of thirds for this one, but part of the flower got cut out.

Flower Near the Library 2 by Genius Central Ink, on Flickr

What about this one with its bright light?

Flower In Bright Light by Genius Central Ink, on Flickr


Right now i have to be really selective with my photos because i don't have a memory card and can only take about 7 shots at a time. By the time i download them to my laptop the sun light has changed.

 

[MTVision]

That is a really neat flower - I've never seen one like that.

#1 I actually like how the flower looks but the background is distracting to me. If there is anyway to move yourself so there isn't anything cluttering the background - that'd be great. It would improve the image

#2 My suggestion : following the rule of thirds doesn't mean you should cut off part of the flower. Also, try not to take a picture of a flower by shooting down on it - that is how we normally see flowers. Instead try to get a unique point of view.

#3 I don't like this one. I don't like some of the petals being blown out. The light isn't flattering.

From what I've read the best time to photograph is at dawn and dusk. Direct sunlight isn't your friend.


Do you like taking pictures of flowers? If so, do a search for flowers on flickr an you will get some good ideas. You should definitely get a memory card though! Keep it up!

 

[cheriserandle]

Oh yeah, you are right about the background. I'm not really into taking pictures of flowers. It's just that we don't have a lot of flowers on campus. So, these flowers really stood out to me. I've never seen them before today. But i'm trying to find the best subject and i'm trying to photograph them in the most unique way possible. I'll take that Flickr suggestion.

Thanks!

 

[dxqcanada5]

Pay more attention to background.
Many photographers concentrate too much on the main subject and neglect the fact that there is more to the image than just that.

Move around the object ... move higher and lower ... eventually you may see something that compliments the subject, or separates the subject.

I spend more time with looking at the surroundings than the object that caught my eye.

 

[robertandrewphoto]

Generally for macro shots you want to only be focused on the subject, in this case the flower. You achieve this by having less depth of field which means a larger aperture. A decent lens will be able to go somewhere around f4 usually, if you have a good lens you can range from around f1.4 to f2.8. You can also edit in the effect a large aperture brings in photoshop using a gaussian blur in the background.

Hope this helps

 

[patrickdio]

I agree with dxqcanada, always remember to look around at the background in your viewfinder before you snap the shot!

Pretty flower though, never seen it before either.

 

[Eclivic]

Also agree, The picture looks like the Flower is in the way. Keep atleast a 5-6 fstop for Flowers like this because it is a WIDE flower.

 

[MTVision]

Also agree, The picture looks like the Flower is in the way. Keep atleast a 5-6 fstop for Flowers like this because it is a WIDE flower.

I may be wrong but I believe the OP is shooting with a Kodak P+S so they do not have control over aperture!

 

[cheriserandle]

True, I don't have control over aperture. I can only choose "Macro" from my camera's scene setting.

 

[Eclivic]

True, I don't have control over aperture. I can only choose "Macro" from my camera's scene setting.

I apologize, Just used to talking about SLR's and Hybrids.

I did some Research on your camera and found you should use Portrait Mode for flower shots.