The weather in California is just non-stop wind and rain, so I continue to improve my macro photography in-house as I wait for the weather to clear and the seemingly constant wind to die down. I bought a piece of black acrylic and wanted to attempt some reflection shots. I thought a rose might be the perfect subject to give it a try.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
This was a rare image that I pre-imagined and had it actually turn out pretty close. I don’t remember being as pleased with one of my own photographs as I have been with this one.
Technical Details
I used the cookie sheet with aluminum foil technique mentioned by Bill in my previous post. That is the only thing lighting this scene. I tried using flash, powered down, but that definitely minimizes the reflection, I found. I brought up the reflection in LR to make it a bit more prominent, but the amount of processing was minimal.
Hey David, I like the repost. The added canvas at the bottom works, and I wouldn’t have noticed the cut off petal if you hadn’t mentioned it. So, it’s a winner in my book. This is very unique, a wonderful reflection on a black surface and a black background to boot. Awesome.
The cut-off at the bottom jumped out at me first thing in the OP. The RP is a great improvement but with a careful look it’s still obvious that the bottom of the petal is a straight line. A bit of cloning could fix it.
A curves layer to brighten the BG reveals some flaws that might be touched out – darks can show up in a print that are not obvious on a screen. It’s just a routine cleanup that I always do when I’ve been messing around with a dark BG.
Thank you so much for the advice @Diane_Miller. The curves trick is a good one and something I will be using from now on. The reworked image above is about the best I can do, I think. I cloned a rounded tip onto the reflection as best I could and cleaned up the black area as well. I think I have a much better image now thanks to your guidance.
David: The rework is exceptionally good IMO. I like the concept and the execution. I thought at first that this was an image by Pat Sampson, an old time NPN moderator who did this kind of still life work. Please take that as the high compliment intended. Most excellent. >=))>
@Bill_Fach This is probably the most flattering photography critique I have ever received. You have made my week! Thank you so much for your kind words and also your guidance.
