Yellow Rose During Sunset- post edit color help

[pyr00]

Hi, here is the original and 3 others. I'd like to get the rose to pop more but exposure or color editing with CS4 always messes with the sunset too much. I really like the exposure and color of everything behind the rose, i just want the rose to "pop" more. Maybe i should have just taken a better photo.

any suggestions for photoshop or camera work would be awesome.

Original

1

2

3

4 -- grass is probably too green

thanks!

 

[musicaleCA]

Flash. In this case perhaps off camera, pointing roughly toward the lens way off left. And perhaps a reflector on the side opposite the rose to add more fill. If you really want to salvage it though, you'll need to adjust the rose separately from the image. There are probably a million-and-one ways to do this in PS; personally I'd duplicate the layer, adjust that layer until I was satisfied with the results for the rose, add a mask and then mask it in. Or use an adjustment layer and do the same...

Hope you're editing in RAW though, because recovering any detail from shadows is going to be a heck of a lot more difficult with an 8-bit JPEG.

 

[pyr00]

Thanks. I didn't think to use a flash, i guess it's something i need to add to my repertoire. And yes, i edit it in RAW.
Thanks

 

[Samanax]

Those images are seriously underexposed. Don't think you can do much with them.

Did you have your camera on a tripod or were these hand held?

You might want to think about getting some off-camera strobist gear if you want to keep taking pictures like this (and have them come out).

Strobist: Lighting 101

Strobist: Lighting 102

 

[pyr00]

They were hand shot iso 800 f/16 1/30s. I would normally grab a tripod but the shot was spur of the moment and the sun sets so quick i didn't really have time. I'll just scrap the shot and try again.
thanks

 

[Stock Photos]

I think I would like it better if it was a dark silhouette or lighter and you could make out more details.

 

[dak1b]

ya def underexposed...i wanna c sum color!

 

[icassell]

Agree with above. You can't get away without foreground lighting on your flower. I wouldn't blast it (you'll get that 'deer in the headlights' look), but a soft fill-light on the flower will make it pop out beautifully.