Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

In my personal opinion, your depth of field and choice of focus point are fine. Without focus bracketing and "stacking," or using a tilt lens, you are nit going to be able to get the entire flower head in sharp focus. Therefore it is a matter of creatively using the available depth of field and selecting the best point in the scene to focus on. You did well on both of those.

Mike

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Hi. I like to shoot flowers, too. When I do that I try to think of what it is in the flower that I really love or like and what I want others to see, assuming that I don't just want a "snapshot" of the subject. Flowers have pattern and line and color and are fascinating to me. I ask myself "how can I present this flower in a more artistic way than a plain presentation of the flower"? It can be hard to figure out. Obviously, since you are using a macro, you want to go "above and beyond" a snapshot, or at least it would appear that way to me. Try taking this flower in many ways, with a focus on one part that you want to emphasize. I tend to like my subjects up close and personal if at all possible and with flowers I can get that. Also, including the background in these types of shots is not really needed and can take away from the shot. Recently I shot some flowers with a Nikon 105 macro and I found that f/8 would get a good degree of sharpness and blur out any background that might be in the shot. Look for how the parts of the flower fit together as you shoot and play with color, juxtaposition, line, form, and pattern and texture. I think you are on the right path but simply need to practice more and try to think "out of the box" a bit.

bela1950 Loc: Massachusetts

Hi
I decreased the ISO to 100 and set aperture at F20 on tripod no flash. The results were greatly improved.
Thank you

bela1950 Loc: Massachusetts

Thank you

bela1950 Loc: Massachusetts

Thank you for that valuable information. I will use it and practice.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Hi, bela,

Your image, benefitting, as it does, from the strong complementary colors and the macro effect of its strong geometric nature has strong impact.

I do, however, agree with RG re: softness of focus and also re: the exceptionally high ISO. There is noticeable noise in the shadowed petals (obvious in the download) related to that high ISO. However, at normal viewing distance it is barely noticeable.

And I also agree with Mike re: moving the flower’s center to the left of center in the image. Flowers, at least those with obvious radial symmetry, usually benefit from a composition in which they are “facing” into the image, rather than facing of out of the image. Just as human and animal faces are usually better presented facing and gazing into the image, so most solitary flowers benefit from such placement.

I often express a more formal critique summary as follows:

Impact: 4.5/5
Technical: 2/5
Composition: 2/5
Total Score: 8.5/15

Best regards,

Dave

bela1950 Loc: Massachusetts

Thank you for your helpful advice. I listened to you and all my friends at UHH who shared their suggestions and shot the same flower again applying the changes. I moved the center to the left; I lowered the ISO to 100, then set aperture at F20, saturated a bit, burned a few bright petals, and finally changed the background to black. So I attached the revised image for your viewing.

(Download)

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Love the colors and the more 'natural' repositioning of the flower within the frame. Have a look at the blending mode of your updates along the left-side petals as the brush strokes seem a bit obvious. Love too the larger pixel size of the post to see the wonderful details and colors.

bela1950 Loc: Massachusetts

Thank you. I resized to 2048 pixels as you advised.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Nice. It is a Gerbera daisy, I think. I find with my set up that f/20 introduces a little too much diffraction for the gain I get in depth of field.

Mike

bela1950 Loc: Massachusetts

Hi Mike
I guess I overdid it trying to capture more depth of field. So I'll try a wider aperture and see the difference. I'll keep trying until I get it right. It's a Mum plant. Thanks

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Do a series of tests at different f stops and then compare. Film and processing are so cheap these days.

Mike

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Agreed. Shoot hundreds, some the same and some with the slightest change. For so close to the subject with this pixel resolution, where you focus can be the difference. For the center disk, if described as a clock, it would seem the florets at the edge about 7-oclock should be sharpest. Test various focus points from the outer edge with slight changes to the 3rd row in, comparing each image at f/11 and every 1/3-stop through f/20.

Bela1950, look too at your focus method. Are you using the camera's LiveView and the 10x zoom and manual focus? All ideas to test on a static subject with a digital camera.

bela1950 Loc: Massachusetts

Will do. Thank you

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Don't forget that you'll get more DOF by backing off a bit (increasing the distance between the camera sensor and the focus point). By filling the frame and then some, you're creating the situation where DOF will be tight even at high f-stops. It's your choice, and if you want the blossom filling the frame you're in the process of finding out what the extra challenges are. It's also your choice whether to tolerate OOF petals or whether you want the whole blossom to be sharp (or acceptably so). There are merits to both possibilities.

A third choice is whether you want the OOF petals just at the back of the blossom or at the back and the front. Personally I find OOF foreground objects a bit offputting when they're prominent or eye-catching, and I usually think that it looks like a mistake. But there's no shortage of people who find it completely acceptable or see it as a way to focus attention on the centre of the blossom. Just be aware when you're given advice that the adviser may have a personal bias behind what he/she is saying.

If you're zooming in close because you want a highly focused view of the blossom, and perhaps want most of the viewer's attention on the heart of the blossom, another possibility is to shoot the blossom wide enough to give some free space round it (or most of it) then add a fairly heavy vignette in PP. When done properly a vignette can be a very effective way to focus attention and it can look quite dramatic. And as a bonus, the whole blossom is there for the viewer's enjoyment.