Canna Lily

[Dave Mills]

Shot this a few days ago and found this to be a very difficult subject to derive a strong comp. Still not sure how I feel about it and would like other opinions.
Nikon D300,200mm macro,F32,1/40,iso 200,0 comp,tripod mtd,natural light

[Joe Senzatimore]

I think it's hard to compose because it is a busy,complex subject with lots of parts. That said , I think this is a fine image as is. The dark Bg sets it off very well. Not in love with the stem coming out of the corner , but thats just a matter of taste. It doesn't take anything away from this image. The great DOF keeps it all together.

[Ed Vatza]

Hi Dave,

Love the flower. Orange is my favorite color. The comp looks fine to me. It's interesting that Joe brought up the point about the stem coming out of the corner. I used to do that often and I would always get beat up here over it. So I stopped doing it. Then just a couple of weeks ago, Artie was critiquing one of my images and wrote:

"Where do you folks stand on bringing the stalk into the frame exactly from the corner? (That would be my preference if possible.)"

And a little later, he added:

"Here is some advice: do it your way. If they do not like it, disagree. Let them know that you prefer your way and let them know why. I was taught that having diagonals enter the frame from a corner is the way to go and I do believe that the resulting compostions are much stronger. I have been questioning the teachers ever since 4th grade and do not intend to quit now!"

So now I sometimes bring the stem in from the corner and sometimes I don't. As Joe pointed out, it is a matter of taste.

[Dave Mills]

Thanks Joe and a very interesting comment by Art. Thanks for showing me Ed.

[denise ippolito]

Dave, Beautiful orange canna. I think you did a great job with the composition. Lovely details. Well done.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Dave,
That is one tough flower to compose....but you found and isolated one nicely. The dark BG really makes it pop too! I don't mind comps out of the corner....besides....it's not directly out of the corner! Exposure and colors well handled too! Very nicely done.

[Julie Kenward]

I think you did an excellent job on the exposure and lighting and DOF. As for the comp...It feels a little bottom heavy to me and I think you could fix it (if you chose to do so) in one of two ways: Either stand the stem up a little straighter and go with a vertical crop or let it arc a little more than it is now and give it more room on the left side for the eye to go out of the frame.

It's perfectly lovely as is - I just feel it's a little tiny bit off balance.