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Some fallen blooms from my own Tree ,made them into a flowergirl type posy and rested it on my wooden statue.
First attempt using my manfrotto tripod,i can see the difference in clarity.
| Brand: | NIKON CORPORATION |
| Camera: | Nikon D3100  Check out Nikon Nation! |
| Lens: | 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G VR |
| Recording media: | JPEG (digital) |
| Date Taken: | 11 Feb 2013 - 10:38 AM |
| Focal Length: | 40mm |
| Lens Max Aperture: | f/5.3 |
| Aperture: | f/5.6 |
| Shutter Speed: | 1/30sec |
| Exposure Comp: | +1 |
| ISO: | 100 |
| Exposure Mode: | Aperture-priority AE |
| Metering Mode: | Multi-segment |
| Flash: | No Flash |
| White Balance: | Auto |
| Title: | Frangipani Posy |
| Username: | 
CLARECUM |
| Uploaded: | 16 Feb 2013 - 11:16 AM |
| Tags: | Flowers & plants |
| VS Mode Rating |
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| Votes: | Voting Disabled |
 | Critique Wanted |
| Modifications Welcome (Upload a Modification) |
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Well is that tripod going to be worth it or what?
The fragipani are beautiful - can't wait to come and smell them!
Beautifully arranged and the wooden statue was a natural setting for them.
Nice bokeh in b/g. A few little bright bits above the posy to tone down
but 100% better!!!
Mum/Kate
Absolutely lovely bouquet. Sorry to say but the photo does not do it justice. The eye is totally distracted by the background. Not helped by some of the background being very bright.
Due to the bright contrasty light and probably because you over exposed +1 some of the detail in the white petals is lost. (look at those top left)
I've done a mod where I reduced highlights overall and used the burn tool on some of the blown areas. This tones down the brightness but does not bring back much detail.
I would suggest:
1 choose a well shaded place away from that harsh contrasty Aussie sunshine.
2. either hang a plain background behind the bouquet or choose a plain area, grass?
3. don't place on a pot or whatever, when I looked at this picture I found myself trying to work out what the flowers were resting on, not looking at your bouquet.
Settings look good for new tripod work.
regards
Ian
Clare, - what a difference a tripod makes! This has to be looked at in the context of whats gone before, and this is a standout.
A closer crop does bring the focus more on the flowers, and is ideally what you want. The statue itself is very interesting, and draws the eye to some extent.
Youve selected a type of flower which is notoriously difficult to shoot well in Sun, as it has a sheen to the leaves, - but overall youve done well. I fully agree with Ian that location is key. dont have bright areas behing, and exclude the Sun from hitting the subject. perhaps your next purchase could be a diffuser, which you can place between the Sun and the subject to soften the light. The suggestion to reduce the light by increasing shutter speed will underexpose the shot. Its exposed quite well, though highlights can be reduced a little to get a bit more detail. All done already by Ian, so my mod looks remarkably similar!.
Well done,
regards
Willie
Hi, Clare, so much better!
Could you have poked the posy through the gap between the arm and head so that the bottom wasn't showing? The bright light between arm and head is a real eye puller.
Your wooden statue is a nice feature, but with the posy in my suggested position, it would also act as a nice dark frame around your posy. Also, try not to have your posy right in the centre of the image.
You want your pretty posy to be the centre of attention, and there is so much else fighting for attention here.
Look at it at different times of the day, looking to see which light suits it best. Overcast days are great for flower photography as clouds naturally diffuse light and your shot will be more evenly exposed. White flowers are always problematic in bright sunshine. Avoid mid-day and if possible, shoot in the shade if it's a sunny day, as this will help bring out the detail in the flowers you're photographing. You can even try creating your own shade with a piece of card. Direct sun can cause colours to wash out and highlights can end up looking blown out.
A plain background behind it is ideal, as busy backgrounds just distract, and it helps if it contrasts with your flower. Darker backgrounds can help colourful flowers 'pop' from the frame.
Pamela.
The use of a tripod is very obvious. Your +1 stop was right for the flowers but has allowed the background to become very over bright. You are arranging your shots, so don't just look at the subject, look around it and behind it. Place the subject to balance the lighting for foreground and background.
Better background darker than the subject in this case. Or expose for background and fill with flash.
Paul
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