Canna Lilly

[Norm Dulak]

Nikon D300 w/Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VRII, HH
ISO Equiv. 200; 1/30 sec. @ f/7.1
MM, uncompensated
Nikon R1 twin strobes
PP: No crop; std. ACR & PS CS5 adjustments; minor bkg. cleanup by cloning

Before this image was captured recently at Longwood Gardens, misters deposited water droplets on the flower.

Norm

[Don Lacy]

Ni Norm, Nice colors and tones and while I am not a big fan of all black BG iI think it works nicely here to contrast against the yellow and white tones of the lilly. My only suggestion would to be to crop from the bottom to just above the brown spot on the stem and from the top to balance it out.

[Ken Childs]

Hey Norm, this is a really good job with a difficult subject! I like black BG's and it really works well with this subject. Don's crop suggestion is pretty much the same advice I would have given.

[Norm Dulak]

Ni Norm, Nice colors and tones and while I am not a big fan of all black BG iI think it works nicely here to contrast against the yellow and white tones of the lilly. My only suggestion would to be to crop from the bottom to just above the brown spot on the stem and from the top to balance it out.

Hi Don!

I understand your concern for the black background, but I've used it here for a couple of reasons. First, Longwood Gardens is a rich place for photographing beautiful flowers. But because there are so many of them, it is sometimes very difficult to photograph one flower, without having many others in the close background that create a busy image and cannot be easily blurred to produce a pleasing, colored background. The black background takes care of that problem nicely, prominently positioning the desired flower as the center of attraction without distractions. Secondly, I agree with you that black contrasts well with the colors of this lilly.

As for the crop suggests that you and Ken have made, I think they are good ones and I appreciate them.

Thanks for your comments.

Norm

[Don Lacy]

Hi Don!

I understand your concern for the black background, but I've used it here for a couple of reasons. First, Longwood Gardens is a rich place for photographing beautiful flowers. But because there are so many of them, it is sometimes very difficult to photograph one flower, without having many others in the close background that create a busy image and cannot be easily blurred to produce a pleasing, colored background. The black background takes care of that problem nicely, prominently positioning the desired flower as the center of attraction without distractions. Secondly, I agree with you that black contrasts well with the colors of this lilly.

As for the crop suggests that you and Ken have made, I think they are good ones and I appreciate them.

Thanks for your comments.

Norm
Hi Norm, Not a concern just personal preference it is a technique that was overdone when it first became popular so I have seen a tone of flower images with black backgrounds, I still do appreciate it when done well and you do use it effectively to show case your subjects:)

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Norm, very nice detailed image. The drops add interest. Agree on the crop.

[Julie Kenward]

I love the flower - you've totally captured the delicate beauty of the petals while keeping all the colors in check. I do disagree with everyone about their crop suggestions, however. I'd leave the long stem - you need it to balance the large flower petals - but take a small slice off the top where there is more negative space. What a lovely image! Very powerful and yet delicate.

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks to everyone for your comments. As usual, I've learned from them!:)

Norm

[Anita Bower]

Graceful angle and beautiful textures. You did a great job of capturing the curves of the petals and the subtle colors. The black bg works beautifully. Lovely details. I would suggest cropping from the top, and maybe cleaning up a few little blemishes on the lower stem, but retaining it. Lovely image.

[Norm Dulak]

Following what I thought were the best of your suggestions, I've reposted what I think is a better image.

In this image, I've cropped out a bit of negative space above the flower. I've also removed the blemish at the bottom of the stem by selecting the blemish and applying the PS CS5 Content Aware tool to replace it with good stem.

Norm

[Anita Bower]

Very nice results!!!