Soon To Be Flowers

Critique Style Requested: In-depth

The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.

Self Critique

I really like the way the flower buds are hanging over the top of the plant and the curves of the stems. I also like the texture of buds. I am not sure if the color is over saturated? I really didn’t add a lot, they were colorful. I was challenged at moving the background away with my so that it would be softened. This is a composite of 14 stacked shots so that I could use a wider aperture.

Creative direction

I wanted to bring out the details. I did use a Topaz filter (expressionalism) to help with that.

Specific Feedback

Is it overdone? Does it have impact?

Technical Details

F4, 105mm macro lens, 14 stacked shots merged in Helicon Focus.

Description

Went to a local garden looking to see what was growing. It was still a little early for most of what I was looking for.

5 Likes

Hi Lisa,

I really like this! :slight_smile:

Some may say or think that the blue and purple colors are over saturated but I like that in some images (like this one for example).
Not all flora images work with high saturation in my opinion, but some do.
The green being more on the muted side helps.
The lighting created some very nice highlights in the veins of the leaves.

I like the white/purple hairs on the leaves and the buds, they add a certain contrasting highlight that I am drawn to.

Yeah, me too! :slight_smile:

It should be fairly easy to control the BG softness since the plant is in a planter where you can place it as far away from the BG foliage as you like, although, ‘finding’ a BG with practically no distractions and the right light is what I find challenging, is that what you’re referring to?
Or, was it the focus stacking and having to figure out where to cutoff the stack?

I think the slightly OOF areas of the leaves at the edges of the frame add continuity, that ties the flower to the BG well IMHO.

That little hint of magenta at the top and URC adds a nice touch of color to the BG.

I also really like the composition and the almost straight on perspective (vertically)! The horizontal angle of the plant is very pleasing. It just feels well balanced to me.

No nitpicking from me on this one. :slight_smile:

All very nice IMHO! :slight_smile:

Hi Lisa - it definitely has impact - really gorgeous detail and you found a great cluster to work with. Background is smooth and doesn’t have any hot or dark spots to distract or have to clone over. From what I can see the stack looks good with no obvious gaps or artifacts. To me though, it is oversaturated in the blue channel. The greens, by comparison, look normal and natural. Merv is right that some flower photos can carry more saturation than others, but it has to be balanced in a way that doesn’t look obvious to other photographers (if that’s your audience). Another thing I would try is to loosen up the crop on the left - the way the buds are pointing I’d like more room for them to point into. You could also experiment with doing a flip and having them point right. That tends to be more engaging for left-right readers. If you add room and flip, that might be the ticket!

Phew! Sorry…got a bit wordy there. Is this spiderwort? If so, it’s one of the nicest photos of it I’ve seen. While gorgeous, they are messy and hard to shoot so brava!

@Merv @Kris_Smith ,

Thank you for the feedback. I may try to lessen the saturation a little. I really am torn on that point. The plant was not in a planter so I could not move it. It was at a local garden (UT gardens) and the back ground was very busy with more of the plant. I pushed the other leaves back a bit and went with a shallower DOF and stacked the shots

I am not sure if I have space to give the buds to point to. Not much cropping with this one, though I may try to flip it and see if I like it better.

I am not sure if it is spiderwort. I love doing photography with plants and flowers, but sadly, I do not know much about them!

I did compete this image in my club competition and it didn’t do as well as much of my past submissions. An off night for me. It’s always a challenge to pick things because the images that do the best are not always what I think would do the best! Oh well, I’m happy with it, so better luck next time!

1 Like

Ooops, sorry about that, I mistook what you were saying, I didn’t realize it was at a Botanical Garden.
We have a few garden ‘shops’ nearby, where you can buy plants and flowers and for some reason I thought that’s what you were referring to :frowning:
I’ve been known to buy a few plants just for photo ops, then my wife gets to plant them wherever she wants :slight_smile:
Knowing that now, I can understand why the BG was so difficult.

I see Kris’s point on more canvas to the left, I thought about that myself but it seemed to be balanced as is because of the concentration of buds on the right side of the stalk. Admittedly, it’s right on the border of needing more canvas (to me).

There must have been some pretty stiff competition, and, you never know what might catch the judge’s eye on any given day.
It’s a winner in my eyes! :slight_smile:

Lisa, the way you’ve composed this looks great to me, the buds and blooms are emphasized well even as the leading lines from the leaves and stems give a good sense of movement. The details in the buds, especially their hair look very good. I do think it’s oversaturated, especially in the blue and purples (red channel). When I look at the largest view, I do see some fringing (leading me to think you used Helicon’s C method), but dealing with that fringing can be a lot of work so it gets into knowing what your goal is for the photo. It’s also possible that the fringing is emphasized by the Topaz filter. That fringing won’t be noticed by most unless you’re doing a large display.

1 Like

Lisa, this is a beautiful image of a spiderwort (I’m pretty sure, although the buds on mine are more green than purple). The flower itself is pretty bold blue/purple, and so no saturation needs to be added later in editing. I really like your image as presented, but some of the suggestions could improve it even more. I like my spiderwort plants even though you have to guard that they don’t take over the garden. My favorite spider, the jumping spider, loves these plants, so that makes them even more special to me. Nice shot.

1 Like

This is a beautiful photograph. I would not change a thing !!! The lines and colors are really nice. There is a slight softness in the blue that i really love. Just beautiful !!!