What's wrong with this picture?

[JeramyJ]

Well, took some shots with the new 105 Nikkor 2.8 that I got for the wife. Very nice for portraits. However, for macro stuff I can't seem to light things correctly. I did some PP on this shot but it still just looks odd for some reason. It was a long exposure. Seemed to be better than the other shots that were faster with more light. Any advice?

 

[Tulsa]

post the original and tell us what you did in PP.

 

[JeramyJ]

Here it is. Cropped it and did some sharpening. All the shadow and color adjustments I tried did not bring the dramatic effect I was going for. It might just be too overexposed to deal with. DOH!!

 

[WimFoto]

as you said, it is over exposed.
what is your technical data? do you shoot in manual? raw?

however, i don't think your edit is all that bad.
because of the over exposure your flower shot looks less than typical, there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[Classic]

Just jumping in here, so forgive me if I am wrong! The white balance is rather yellow for starters. Are you hoping that more of the roses were in focus or is it just the exposure and color that are throwing you?

 

[JeramyJ]

Just the exposure and color really. When I adjust the yellow out in Lightroom the color of the rose where the detail comes out goes away. Removes the pattern of yellow on the rose. Very cool looking rose, I had never seen one like it before. Neither had the wife. I got good brownie points for that at least.

 

[JeramyJ]

May be hopeless. Thanks for the replies. I changed the halo effect to black for a bit more drama. I will play with the lighting next time.

 

[kineard]

It's over exposed. Try increasing your f stop, setting the iso around 200 and lowering the light. I think that may give the richer, deeper look.

 

[kineard]