Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

A strange flower.

(Download)

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

As you’ve posted in FYC Bobspez, I’m assuming critique is wanted. The image generally looks rather soft although the actual point of focus is sharp. Trouble is you’re up against it with this type of close-up, most viewers will want the whole thing to be sharp. Focus stacking is one technique that can help. Is this a heavy crop? Lots of potential detail there that could be brought out with pp, but the softness won’t be your friend. Interesting flower though - I love these little orchids, there’s such a variety but some are pretty rare.

wayne barnett Loc: Grants Pass, Oregon

Out of focus and over exposed.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Thanks Magnetoman and Wayne. It's not a heavy crop, the original is posted below. I used flash which washed out the white petals. I'll try again with a higher f-stop and a tripod to see if I can get a sharper image all over with a long exposure in natural light.

(Download)

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Using flash was probably a good idea; but you might want to try to get the flash off your camera and have the light coming more from the side which would add shadows and textures to your composition. I'm sure that I would spend a lot of time with a flower this pretty. I think it would certainly be worth investigating different lighting recipes.
Erich

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Tried a bunch of things with my dslr, multiple off camera flashes, long exposure in natural light, tiny apertures, tripod, stacking images. Strangely the best image so far seemed to me to come from my Nikon Coolpix B700, handheld at f6.7, 1/30 sec., iso-100 with on camera flash. Turns out it is difficult to get details on white petals without turning the details in the colored center dull. Even stacking didn't do the trick, it turned out to be a compromise between the petals and the center. Interesting exercise though.

(Download)

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

I like this one better than the first one. I took the liberty to download your photo and try a few ideas in post. With your permission, I'll post it. I used Light Room to paint just the white petals. Then I reduced the exposure slightly and adjusted the whites, highlights, and contrast. The final touch was to add some sharpening. I'm also wondering how translucent those petals are. Is it possible to get a flashlight behind the plant and shine it at the back of the petals. If they are translucent, it will bring out some details and possibly eliminate the need for on camera flash. Just an idea.
erich

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Absolutely. Feel free to process and post it. The petals are fairly thick. I tried lighting them from below and behind with an off camera speedlight but it didn't add detail. Below is another version I took with my dslr and tripod. A two second exposure at f11 in natural light at iso-100. The detail came out better in the white petals but the center was less sharp than the coolpix version. I have a feeling that shooting this flower could be an assignment for a photography class.

(Download)

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

You have a point there. I do like the detail in the petals; but you lost a bit in the center. Since that is a major point of interest, it does not appear to be the best compromise. This is a tough assignment. Whenever you get one thing nailed down, another problem arises. Here is what I came up with for your shot.

In this edit the creamy white nature of the petals is less pronounced.

(Download)

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

A definite improvement in the petals without losing any detail in the center. And less noise to boot. How did you do it? I have Photoshop but I imagine Lightroom has the same effects?

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

I think you can do just about anything in PS that LR can do. The difference is that LR is set up differently and emphasizes the tools we use for editing to a greater extend. LR does not use layers, and I think that is the biggest difference. So I used the paint brush tool in LR to select the petals. (you paint over the area that you want to work on). Then You have control over exposure, contrast, highlights, shadow, black, white, and sharpness in the form of sliders. They will only affect the area that you have selected with the brush. I lowered the exposure, worked on contrast and highlights. Then I altered the temperature so that the whites would pretty much match the whites in the surrounding flowers. I did not change much; but because you are only working on the selected areas, it makes a big difference in the photo.

In PS I would have had to select the white petals, soften the area at the edge of the selection and work with adjustments. I find that to be cumbersome. I usually only use PS for spot removal, and cloning. Of course, if you want to make a composite photo, then PS is your friend and LR is all but useless. Hope that explains the process a bit more clearly.
Erich

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Very well done. I tried using the PS magnetic lasso on the center portion and adjusting the center portion of a pic with more petal detail, but my hand wasn't steady enough to get all the edges correctly. The result was a cut and paste look of the center portion. Your processing was flawless. Thanks for your interest.
.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

My pleasure. The photo was fun to experiment with and the thread has been engaging. I hope I was able to shed a bit of insight into how I do things. It might not be the correct way; but it is my way.
Erich