Another flower shot...

[Paul Heester]

Spent a very hot afternoon yesterday trying to get something I liked. Unfortunately when I try to force an idea I find the result somewhat lacking. Maybe this is the case here? Its an unknown white plant in our garden, coupled with a bottle I bought at a charity fair. This time I opted for a longer focal length around 90mm on APS-C and the background is a white sheet against the patio windows in full English summertime sun!

IMG_1761a.jpg (96.33 KiB) Viewed 4716 times

Lighting-wise I over exposed shot by around 1 2/3 stops and used a reflector to bounce light back in plus a strobe to add a dash more light. I then slightly blurred the lower background to remove creases in the sheet. Applied a vignette texture in Multiply layer mode then added a Colour Balance layer to tweak the colours.

I feel the plant itself is the weak part of this image and would benefit from a sunflower or similar with more character. What are peoples thoughts?

[davidc]

I think your last thought is exactly right, something not white so the detail is a bit more distinct

[Nina]

Hi Paul

First of all can you please post Exif data with your images in this section of the forum. It was meant to be in the rules, but it has been missed off, but it helps when giving critique. I appreciate that in this case with the amount of PP this becomes less relevant.

I enjoyed reading the detailed description of how you went about photographing this flower, but like you and David I feel the flower is too delicate and a stronger/larger flower would work better.

[Mike Farley]

....... like you and David I feel the flower is too delicate and a stronger/larger flower would work better.

+1

Good idea, even if the execution needs a bit more work in this instance. Having the flower in a complementary colour to the background might work well. You can always experiment with this shot using the color replacement tool to see what works best.

[davidc]

Liking the series of shots though, definitely, and seeing how it progresses over time.

[Mike Farley]

Liking the series of shots though, definitely, and seeing how it progresses over time.

+1