[areidjr]

I would appreciate a little feedback on these three flower photos. I'd like to know what is good or bad with them and what you would do differently. They're similar shots of three different daylily flowers.







FYI, they are all PPG rejects. I've gotten 5 bird shots accepted, but nothing else I have submitted has made it. Just looking for some constructive criticism on these.

Thanks,

--
Al

[Mr Hyde]

I dont know why but I know I like the second one the best.

[Buschmaster]

Firstly, I'm fishing for things to say that aren't great with these pictures.

The second two could give a bit more as far as bokeh in the background is concerned.

They should definitely be in the PPG.

Shoot they are all very good. The second works best for me because I like the subject isolation... But the third is really good too, in fact if the background was blurred a bit more it is the winner.

[Peter Zack]

First impressions were that the 1st shot was a touch over-exposed but in looking at it more it might not really need any adjustment. The bokeh and sharpness work well here and the soft pastel colour is well captured.

2nd shot is great and I like the isolated dark background. Very good shot as it is and I might have tried to remove the small brown stem and dead flower bud to islote the subject even more but that might not improve the shot, just worth a try.

3rd. DOF might be a little too much. You shot at f16 @105mm (is this the Sigma lens?). I would open up the lens a bit to increase the background blur a bit more if you could still keep the flower sharp. Beautiful colours and exposre here.

Overall a great effort and beautiful shots with very little (or nothing?) that could make them better.

[areidjr]

I dont know why but I know I like the second one the best.

Thanks, Mr Hyde. I like #2 the best as well, followed by 1 then 3. #2 was rejected by the Pentax judges at the same time they accepted 4 bird shots.

--
Al

[areidjr]

Firstly, I'm fishing for things to say that aren't great with these pictures.

The second two could give a bit more as far as bokeh in the background is concerned.

They should definitely be in the PPG.

Thanks, Buschmaster. I see your point on bokeh on the third shot, but I really like the way the dark featureless background on the second shot helps to isolate and highlight the flower. Obviously, I'm not seeing it like others see it

--
Al

[areidjr]

Shoot they are all very good. The second works best for me because I like the subject isolation... But the third is really good too, in fact if the background was blurred a bit more it is the winner.

Thanks for the comments,Igilligan. I see that on #3 I was a little deep on the DOF and for the life of me I can't remember why I shot at f/16. I almose never go that high.

--
Al

[areidjr]

First impressions were that the 1st shot was a touch over-exposed but in looking at it more it might not really need any adjustment. The bokeh and sharpness work well here and the soft pastel colour is well captured.

2nd shot is great and I like the isolated dark background. Very good shot as it is and I might have tried to remove the small brown stem and dead flower bud to islote the subject even more but that might not improve the shot, just worth a try.

3rd. DOF might be a little too much. You shot at f16 @105mm (is this the Sigma lens?). I would open up the lens a bit to increase the background blur a bit more if you could still keep the flower sharp. Beautiful colours and exposre here.

Overall a great effort and beautiful shots with very little (or nothing?) that could make them better.

Thanks for the feedback, Peter.

I agree that the dead bud is somewhat distracting on the second and I really didn't notice it until you pointed it out. In the future I'll be more careful about cleaning things up before I shoot.

Again, I agree with you on the third. It is the Sigma lens and I really don't know why I would have gone to f/16. I almost never shoot much beyond f/8.

I guess I need to learn to look more criticall of my shots. It helps to get unbiased opinions.

--
Al

[Bramela]

As a Daylily grower myself, I find your shots very interesting.
I think you have handled them very well. Not too much to criticise.
The sharpness of your last shot is stunning.
I cant really find too much to criticise.
Have added one of my Daylily shots for your interest.

[areidjr]

As a Daylily grower myself, I find your shots very interesting.
I think you have handled them very well. Not too much to criticise.
The sharpness of your last shot is stunning.
I cant really find too much to criticise.
Have added one of my Daylily shots for your interest.

Thanks, Bramela. On one forum I was told that the third one was too yellow. Go figure.

Your daylily shot is stuning. My wife gets the credit for growing all of the flowers. I just shoot them. Heck, Before I starting taking photos of them I didn't even know what they were called.

--
Al

[xandy]

3rd. DOF might be a little too much. You shot at f16 @105mm (is this the Sigma lens?). I would open up the lens a bit to increase the background blur a bit more if you could still keep the flower sharp. Beautiful colours and exposre here.

Overall a great effort and beautiful shots with very little (or nothing?) that could make them better.

Greetings

I like this one best, would you Peter explain (I need to learn) why you would like to have the background blur increased ?
For me the flower looks very alive, I almost see a motion of nature here. I always want my pictures "alive". Thank you.

Congrats to Al for such great shoots.

andy

[Peter Zack]

Andy, This is a matter of personal taste and many people would prefer to see as much of the flower and plant in focus. I just like the background and other distracting elements to be out of focus or blurred. It makes the subject really pop out in the picture even more.So the part I was referring to was the green parts in the lower right and the other background items.

With this shot it may be tough as some of that is very close to the plane of focus and it might not be possible. Shooting angle and subject can make a big impact on the final result.

That all being said, this is a great shot with perfect colour and composition. Very nice and sharp and a great use of the light.

[roentarre]

The first shot has a better colour for me but the OOF area is too distracting. The stamen can be isolated further if you could blurr the rest of petals.

The 2nd shot works well effectively isolated from the dark background. The dead flower below the subject is rather a nuisance and the foreground petal is kind of "in the way" viewing the image.

The last shot suffers harsh lighting directly from above. It would benefit soft light with a more directional lighting.

[Peter Zack]

See Andy, It is personal taste. Roentarre would like softer light on the 3rd shot and I like the use of light. I think he has a point that it could be considered harsh and I can see that but in this shot for some reason I like the light.

It can also depend on what you're shooting for. Is it to hang on your wall and enjoy your shots, to display to a wider audience or to sell commercially? If the latter, then roentarre is probably right and it would likely be accepted better for that use. If the former then the 'classic rules' don't apply nearly as much, shoot how you like and develop your own style. What we say doesn't matter anyway. Plus, that is often how the artform evolves, by breaking the rules or standard practices and doing it differently.