I have never been a real flower shooter. I shoot a bunch of them, but I seldom get any that I feel good about. They always look better than the pics I take of them.
I found this little nasturtium in the shade today... just waitin' to burst out. I took some shots of it and I kind of like how they turned out, but I am not sure to crop tight or not.

So does this work for anyone?

If not what is not working for you?

And if so does the tight crop work better?
Thanks for your help...
gus



Attachment 11628

[little laker]

It works very well for me Gus. Nice photo

[betsypdx]

I prefer the first of the two - the composition adds interest to the shot, imo.

I'm with Betsy, I like the original, good job.
Gary

[Ole]

They both work. I prefer #2, I like the crop. I find the blown out highlight to the lower left in #1 quite distracting.

[Heinrich Lohmann]

I have never been a real flower shooter. I shoot a bunch of them, but I seldom get any that I feel good about. They always look better than the pics I take of them.
I found this little nasturtium in the shade today... just waitin' to burst out. I took some shots of it and I kind of like how they turned out, but I am not sure to crop tight or not.

So does this work for anyone?

If not what is not working for you?

And if so does the tight crop work better?
Thanks for your help...
gus



Attachment 11628

Hi Gus, it's a nice photo and for me it is #2 but I would crop it a little different. IMHO it needs a little more headroom, like this



Hope that you don't mind, take care

[Ash]

I actually don't mind your #2 crop Gus.
Although the whole bloom is centred in the image, the sharply focused flower part is top left, basically still following the rule of thirds.

Love the striking colours in the shot, but would have to agree with Ole on the blown out highlight - perhaps some cloning with the neighbouring region would make #1 a real winner.

But don't be hard on yourself with your flower photos. This one is a great capture.

It works very well for me Gus. Nice photo

Thank Stu

I prefer the first of the two - the composition adds interest to the shot, imo.

Thanks Betsy
I think I prefer the first and agree with you about the extra interest in the rest of the photo. Even though it is blurred to obscurity the colors are of interest.

I'm with Betsy, I like the original, good job.
Gary

Thanks for the kind works Gary

They both work. I prefer #2, I like the crop. I find the blown out highlight to the lower left in #1 quite distracting.

I was struggling with that question. In my mind because it was so OOF it was less distracting than a In focus blown Highlight so I went with it. But I can see how it pulls your eye away from the subject/

I actually don't mind your #2 crop Gus.
Although the whole bloom is centred in the image, the sharply focused flower part is top left, basically still following the rule of thirds.

Love the striking colours in the shot, but would have to agree with Ole on the blown out highlight - perhaps some cloning with the neighbouring region would make #1 a real winner.

But don't be hard on yourself with your flower photos. This one is a great capture.

Thanks for the kind words Ash. That was my thought as well, since the focus was up and away from center, i thought it worked ok.
I may try some cloning on it, although my attempts in the past have been less than satisfactory. It may be easier just to try and reshoot for me.

Thanks to all of you for the help.

Hi Gus, it's a nice photo and for me it is #2 but I would crop it a little different. IMHO it needs a little more headroom, like this



Hope that you don't mind, take care

I don't mind the help at all... I like your crop too, I see what you mean about more room at the top.
Feel free to always make changes and suggestions to my photos. I appreciate the effort.

[roentarre]

Photographing flowers are never easy.

I personally prefer the first shot but some doom sayers would focus on the stem being distracting. In this shot, the stalk was off centre, placed in a diagonal orientation which is a very wise thing to do. There is some tinge of blue bokeh behind the flower giving that sense of sophitiscation. The flower itself could have a little of stronger fill in light or maybe lifted in terms of curve. The first shot is in deed a good shot and I would personally keep it in my port folio if I were you.

The 2nd shot does have a close up look to it, filling up the frame. However, the flower itself is not "interesting" enough to take up all the space. The texture did not stand out or the colour is beautiful as expected. The theme is pretty much "a pretty flower". Contrary to the first shot, this shot is not as elegant and poetic as the first image.

Hope my words help

Photographing flowers are never easy.

I personally prefer the first shot but some doom sayers would focus on the stem being distracting. In this shot, the stalk was off centre, placed in a diagonal orientation which is a very wise thing to do. There is some tinge of blue bokeh behind the flower giving that sense of sophitiscation. The flower itself could have a little of stronger fill in light or maybe lifted in terms of curve. The first shot is in deed a good shot and I would personally keep it in my port folio if I were you.

The 2nd shot does have a close up look to it, filling up the frame. However, the flower itself is not "interesting" enough to take up all the space. The texture did not stand out or the colour is beautiful as expected. The theme is pretty much "a pretty flower". Contrary to the first shot, this shot is not as elegant and poetic as the first image.

Hope my words help

Thank you James for your thoughtful critique. You have put into words the feeling I have when I look at the first photo. I really appreciate the time you took to really break it down with such descriptive thoughts. Your words are "elegant and poetic" and help me to clearly see the photo in that way. In my eyes it is a stronger photo with your words. If that makes sense.
Thank you
Gus