NO WAY!

[Bear]

I think I finally got it

This is the new pic

This is the old one

So am I the only one that sees that this one is better? I'm gettin giddy just sittin here thinking I finally got the lighting thing figured out. Please tell me yay or nay

 

[LaFoto]

Weeeelll, you HAVE chosen a difficult subject here!
Not that flowers are too difficult a subject to photograph. No. Usually they are quite cooperative, they don't shift or move or get silly or blink, and they are quite patient and let you do your thing while they silently watch... but a flower against the brightness of the sky behind it in sunshine ... and to get the LIGHT right, and exposure, that is the difficult thing.

Your first photo shown (which I take is your second or umptieth photo TAKEN in order to get it right) has the sky nicely blue, a good framing by the trees around the flower (with a "friendly" inclusion of some green, just for me, I suppose ), pleasing composition and no blown highlights on the bud next to the flower.

So taking all that into consideration, the first photo shown is an improvement.

And I still feel that the INSIDE of the flower is underexposed in the first ... am I wrong in this? Am I wrong in feeling that the very centre of that flower is more detailed in the second (first try)?