some macro, and PS learning for C&C

[nahtanoj]

hello all! been lurking around for a bit and i'm finally ready to have some photos torn apart! here are a couple of macros i've done holding, no tripod. and i just started fiddling with photoshop CS3, so i thought i'd share my amateur work. i probably need knocked down a few pegs.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

 

[nahtanoj]

well, in my short time on this forum i have noticed you either get lit up for being awful, or praised for being amazing.
i shall take silence as being perfectly average. :mrgreen:

 

[sean7488]

not sure I like the selective coloring on 3, it just doesn't seem to look right.

 

[mrpink]

Those are not macros, they are closeups.

I do not mind the selective coloring on #3, the photo actually isn't bad either. But #5 is just all together odd. The use and application of SC on that photo just makes it worse. Undo that and keep it in the snapshot bin.





p!nK

 

[nahtanoj]

yeah, #5 really is just a spur of the moment snap shot. not well set up, just fooling around with the PS. thanks

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

What do you like and not like about each image?

What are their strengths, and weaknesses.

What would you like to do differently, now that you looked at them a few times?

 

[nahtanoj]

after posting them up, i noticed i did not like #1 very much. the background looks washed out and there are hot spots. that is the biggest thing i noticed.
i like #2 and #3.
i don't know how i feel on #4.
and #5 is more just fiddling with PS than anything. nothing to write home about.

 

[KenC]

The first two are pretty good for hand-holding (but do by all means get a tripod!!), but the out-of-focus flower in each is distracting, especially in the first, where it is right up front. I like the way the second plays the lightness of the flower against the dark background, but next time compose or crop to get rid of the other flower. For some reason multiple oof flowers would be less distracting, perhaps because they would just become part of the background pattern, but one just screams "hey look at me, I'm blurry!"

 

[nahtanoj]

i see what you are saying. most of my shots are of one flower, these were trial with foreground/background. i will see what i can do with these types of shots to make it more background, and less blurry image. thanks for the input.
i've got a tripod, but it's defective and drives me nuts. there is no way to put it into a portrait position. note to self, test new tripod before purchase!

 

[AprilEye]

not sure I like the selective coloring on 3, it just doesn't seem to look right.

I on the other hand, love this shot most of all. Its subtle selective coloring and not so harsh like some you see. This was the first shot I stopped and really looked at for a few extra seconds.