Flower Critique: Flower photographed in Massachusetts. Settings: ISO 400, 135mm, f/5.6, 1/640 second. With natural light and cropped. Thanks in advance for any critiques. 8-)...

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Flower photographed in Massachusetts.

Settings: ISO 400, 135mm, f/5.6, 1/640 second. With natural light and cropped.

Thanks in advance for any critiques. 8-)

Nightski

Bmac wrote:

Flower photographed in Massachusetts.

Settings: ISO 400, 135mm, f/5.6, 1/640 second. With natural light and cropped.

Thanks in advance for any critiques. 8-)

The flower is in focus and beautifully lit. I love how the light is coming from the left, softly lighting some of the flower buds as well. The subject is contrasted nicely from it's background, and the leaves in soft focus lend a balance to the whole composition.

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

Bmac wrote:

Flower photographed in Massachusetts.

Settings: ISO 400, 135mm, f/5.6, 1/640 second. With natural light and cropped.

Thanks in advance for any critiques. 8-)

A superb flower shot. The lighting is perfect, and focus is exactly where you want it to be. The composition is pleasing and the color is well-saturated and rich. The black creamy background fading into dark green is a perfect complement to the subject. I love it.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Nightski wrote:

The flower is in focus and beautifully lit. I love how the light is coming from the left, softly lighting some of the flower buds as well. The subject is contrasted nicely from it's background, and the leaves in soft focus lend a balance to the whole composition.

Thank you Nightski. 8-)

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Heirloom Tomato wrote:

A superb flower shot. The lighting is perfect, and focus is exactly where you want it to be. The composition is pleasing and the color is well-saturated and rich. The black creamy background fading into dark green is a perfect complement to the subject. I love it.

Thanks Heirloom. 8-)

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

Perfect.
The only thing I would change is I would crop the "orphan" leaf out of it on the middle left.
I just love those new buds hanging under the fully formed flower.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Bmac wrote:

Flower photographed in Massachusetts.

Settings: ISO 400, 135mm, f/5.6, 1/640 second. With natural light and cropped.

Thanks in advance for any critiques. 8-)

It is indeed very well done as noted by others.

But the front of the flower is a bit soft. A higher f-stop would have given you enough depth of field to keep it tack sharp from the front to the rear of the flower. Of course you'd lose the background blurring you want but could add that back in with post processing.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

MtnMan wrote:

It is indeed very well done as noted by others.

But the front of the flower is a bit soft. A higher f-stop would have given you enough depth of field to keep it tack sharp from the front to the rear of the flower. Of course you'd lose the background blurring you want but could add that back in with post processing.

Or you could stack exposures and blend. That is a trick I'm just starting to explore.

It's a beautiful flower portrait. I like the way you've processed it (vivid but not overboard). The green leaves on the left in the middle are a little bright for my taste, might respond to some gentle burning to make them less distracting. But the overall impression is wonderfully rich and detailed. Like it a lot.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

lighthouse wrote:

Perfect.
The only thing I would change is I would crop the "orphan" leaf out of it on the middle left.
I just love those new buds hanging under the fully formed flower.

Thanks for the suggestion Lighthouse and glad you liked the photograph. 8-)

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

MtnMan wrote:

It is indeed very well done as noted by others.

But the front of the flower is a bit soft. A higher f-stop would have given you enough depth of field to keep it tack sharp from the front to the rear of the flower. Of course you'd lose the background blurring you want but could add that back in with post processing.

Yes, perhaps I should have taken another shot with a smaller aperture to see if I retained the background separation with an extended depth of field as a bonus. 8-)

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

minniev wrote:

Or you could stack exposures and blend. That is a trick I'm just starting to explore.

It's a beautiful flower portrait. I like the way you've processed it (vivid but not overboard). The green leaves on the left in the middle are a little bright for my taste, might respond to some gentle burning to make them less distracting. But the overall impression is wonderfully rich and detailed. Like it a lot.

Thanks Minniev for a valid critique. 8-)

Singing Swan

I would make a soft vignette of the green leaves and really bring the focus to only the blossoms. The leaves make your eye wander.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Singing Swan wrote:

I would make a soft vignette of the green leaves and really bring the focus to only the blossoms. The leaves make your eye wander.

Thank you for the suggestion Ms Swan. 8-)