Rudbeckia Bud

[Anita Bower]

I'm glad to be back. Have been busy attending a photo conference, preparing for a show of 14 of my images in a local coffee shop, and having my son home from college. I'm starting to catch up.

Nikon D300, Sigma 105mm macro, 1/400, f3.8, ISO 200, manual focus, manual exposure, tripod. Taken outdoors in my garden, evening, some backlighting by western sky. PP in PS7--basic adjustments.

Is the color to the right too strong and distracting?

[Julie Kenward]

Although I love the abstract shapes represented here I do think, for me, the coral color is a bit of an attention grabber. I find myself following the "wave" out of the frame instead of looking at the flower. I think others will really like it, though so let's see...

[Anita Bower]

Although I love the abstract shapes represented here I do think, for me, the coral color is a bit of an attention grabber. I find myself following the "wave" out of the frame instead of looking at the flower. I think others will really like it, though so let's see...
Thanks, Jules. Don't know what to do about the color.

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Liked the comp in this image - simple & elegant. The wavy patterns in the BG is also interesting. I might however desaturate the greens in the BG (more so in the lower-right half) so that it does'nt draw too much attention.
The petals of the bud look beautiful spiraling and folded.

[Allen Sparks]

I agree with Kaushik on this one. I like the BG as is except the green could be toned down some so as not to compete with the subject. Love the detail and textures of the bud.

[Anita Bower]

Allen andKaushik: Thanks for the suggestion to desaturate green in LRC Have done so, and it looks better.

[Cheryl Flory]

Anita, if you darken/deepen the bud, or at least the neutrals, to give it more "weight", would that help keep the focus there?

[Ken Childs]

Anita, I love the subject but do think the orange on the right is distracting. I tried selecting that area and then did a selective layer color adjustment and worked on the reds to make them less bright and more earthy looking. Maybe because I was working on a compressed file, it left it looking somewhat banded but some box blur took care of that. I thought the results looked pretty good. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

[Anita Bower]

Cheryl: What an interesting suggestion. I experimented with your idea. I think what I ended up doing was lightening the bg, which had the effect of making the bud look darker. I think the flower stands out more. What do you think? Thanks ever so much.

[Anita Bower]

Ken: I tried your suggestion on version 2. I think it improves the image. Thanks!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Anita,
Looks like your schedule is rivaling mine! Big congrats on the print exhibit! I like the final repost best.....final micro manage tweak....clone/patch the 2 bright spots on the LR leaves. Finishing touch on an excellent comp!

[Anita Bower]

Thanks, Roman. I appreciate all the helpful suggestions, including the micro-managing ones. :)