As it happens with moi ... spontaneous combustion and ideas happen all the time in my corner of the world.
Came across a commentary/critique posted on a member's image that, for me anyways, was extremely enlightening, well thought out and courteously profferred in the spirit of helping someone improve. So ...
Here is that 'critique' in it's entirety ...
"Since iris' don't grow very high it is difficult to get good depth of field on the flower yet drop the focus on the background when shooting from above like this. It's a nice shot but it is a bit cramped with too tight a crop on the flower and the highly detailed background detracts from the subject matter. I suggest trying two different kinds of shots. 1) If you are going to shoot the flower from above, try adjusting the DOF to mute the background and possibly waiting until early or late in the day when the flower is lit but not the ground. A slight fill flash, enough to light the flower only, would help. You may lose a little detail on the flower but it would stand out much better with the focus only on the iris. 2) While preparing to shoot the flower from the side (rather than from above), try moving around the flower until you get a solid background behind it, something like a wall or even the sky. Barring that, standing a piece of dark or light material (cloth, posterboard, etc.) behind the flower would certainly make it pop. If you aren't looking for a studio-style image then by all means use a natural background.
And I encourage all of you to post to this thread if you receive a commentary/critique or come across one, that helped you in some way. Novice, or expert, if you will ... makes no difference.
Let's see some great examples of a dying 'art', in and of itself. :o)
Came across a commentary/critique posted on a member's image that, for me anyways, was extremely enlightening, well thought out and courteously profferred in the spirit of helping someone improve. So ...
Here is that 'critique' in it's entirety ...
"Since iris' don't grow very high it is difficult to get good depth of field on the flower yet drop the focus on the background when shooting from above like this. It's a nice shot but it is a bit cramped with too tight a crop on the flower and the highly detailed background detracts from the subject matter. I suggest trying two different kinds of shots. 1) If you are going to shoot the flower from above, try adjusting the DOF to mute the background and possibly waiting until early or late in the day when the flower is lit but not the ground. A slight fill flash, enough to light the flower only, would help. You may lose a little detail on the flower but it would stand out much better with the focus only on the iris. 2) While preparing to shoot the flower from the side (rather than from above), try moving around the flower until you get a solid background behind it, something like a wall or even the sky. Barring that, standing a piece of dark or light material (cloth, posterboard, etc.) behind the flower would certainly make it pop. If you aren't looking for a studio-style image then by all means use a natural background.
--Nikoneer"
... on "Put your skirt down, Iris !" by Roland; aka rolonmascara.
And I encourage all of you to post to this thread if you receive a commentary/critique or come across one, that helped you in some way. Novice, or expert, if you will ... makes no difference.
Let's see some great examples of a dying 'art', in and of itself. :o)