B&W flower

[Carmelo75]

hi everybody,

here is my first post on this thread. Please criticize and suggest...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3463/3982606323_5b06c2510d_o.jpg

[craig_d]

Very nice! My only suggestion is that I would be inclined to polish the area of the background just to the right of the flower's tip, where the nice dark-to-light gradient is interrupted.

[Miguel Delinquento]

Carmelo,
There is a lot to like about this image. Excellent B&W tones; I like the graduated background; the flower itself has a lovely, compelling form so you chose well. The vertical transition from leaf to flower is also a great idea.

A couple of things prevent this from becoming a portfolio-level shot.
- There are noticeable sharpening halos around the front leaf, especially on the right side.
-More importantly, the leaf itself is a little too ragged which does not go very well with the lithe almost perfect flower. You may have gotten away with the rotting black outlines on the leaves, but that little missing chunk on the left side I notice too much. Specimen choice is hugely important when shooting closeups of plants:the more perfect the better.

That all said, for a first post you done quite well.

M

[Carmelo75]

Carmelo,
There is a lot to like about this image. Excellent B&W tones; I like the graduated background; the flower itself has a lovely, compelling form so you chose well. The vertical transition from leaf to flower is also a great idea.

A couple of things prevent this from becoming a portfolio-level shot.
- There are noticeable sharpening halos around the front leaf, especially on the right side.
-More importantly, the leaf itself is a little too ragged which does not go very well with the lithe almost perfect flower. You may have gotten away with the rotting black outlines on the leaves, but that little missing chunk on the left side I notice too much. Specimen choice is hugely important when shooting closeups of plants:the more perfect the better.

That all said, for a first post you done quite well.

M

thanks a lot craig & miguel. in fact, I find sharpening still one of the hardest things to tune... on the other end, the dark outline of the leaf was emphasized on pourpose, but I will try to reduce it to see the result. On the other end, the upper-right background will require much more work and time (at least for me), not sure I can show it quickly...

For the moment, here is a less aggressive and more careful sharpening (USM on the final image, after resizing), I'm curious to see what you think:help

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3481/3984484191_b1519b21e9_o.jpg

[Mr. Quiet]

The halos around the front leaf are gone. I think you need to blow off your CCD or CMOS. From the tip of the flower, move almost to left side of the frame and down a bit, you will see a faint dust mark.

Great shot!

[TonyCooper]

This photograph - which I do like - makes me think of "rules" and when to break them. "Don't center your subject" is a rule that is broken here, but off-setting the subject would not improve the photo.

What I would do, though, is break the format rule. Photographs do not have to be standard sizes. In this case, I'd crop that to a long, narrow vertical.

[Carmelo75]

This photograph - which I do like - makes me think of "rules" and when to break them. "Don't center your subject" is a rule that is broken here, but off-setting the subject would not improve the photo.

What I would do, though, is break the format rule. Photographs do not have to be standard sizes. In this case, I'd crop that to a long, narrow vertical.

Honestly I rarely think of rules when I shoot, I just try to follow the very first impression the subject gives me, in particular in terms of "geometrical balance".

The cropping you suggest is a great idea, I'll most probably go for that when I will finally print this shot.

Thanks a lot to everybody for the encouraging words, especially since it was the first time I posted one of my shots to get serious critiques... More to come soon!:rofl

[cadred]

The second one doesn't have any sharpening artifacts, but could benefit from more contrast, in my opinion.

[Carmelo75]

hi everybody, thanks for all the comments!

I added contrast to the image (trying anyhow not to exagerate and blow the highlights...), as cadred suggests. Is it going in the right direction?

[Chile Chef]

Carmelo (http://www.dgrin.com/member.php?u=48492), I really like your last version.

Now go into photoshop and maybe add some pantone pinks to just the petals of the flower, It would bring it over the edge for sure.