Orchid

[denise ippolito]

Canon 5D
180 mm Macro lens
1/125 sec. at f/32
ISO 200
Tripod,flash +1/3

Should I get rid of the water drops?

[Dave Mills]

Hi Denise, good lighting and very sharp. Black backround makes the image pop.Would have liked to have seen the orchid connected to a stem so it's not floating in the image.

[denise ippolito]

Dave, I agree, see if this is better

[Dave Mills]

Hi, Yes, better! If it's possible to bring it up a bit more I would do so.

[denise ippolito]

Thanks Dave, I'll see what I can do.

[Stephen Stephen]

Very nice Denise. I also prefer the version with more stem visible.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Denise. Nice sharpness and an effective DOF. As an alternate opinion - because the stem is so dark and hard to see, you might remove it completely. In that case, a different comp with the flower centered and surrounded by black would work well, IMO. I think the 2 water drops could be removed as they don't really add to the image (if there were lots of drops, it would be a different story). I'm not that fond of the hard flash-generated shadows under the central flower parts - you might try selectively lightening them a bit. :)

[denise ippolito]

Stephen and Steve, Thankyou both for your comments.
Steve, Thanks for pointing out the shadows I never even saw them!! Good point w/ the stem and I have to consider the water drops as there are several. They show up more in the larger file.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Denise,
Steve made some very good observations and that may actually be the best solution......unless you want to drop $600 on the twin flash unit! I think just lightening the shadow will help a lot. Not bad for the first time out at f29....wow!!!.... you even pushed it to f32!

[Julie Kenward]

Nicely done, Denise although it does feel like it's really floating in the first image - I think that's a combination of the flower being so bright and the BG being so dark. On top of lightening the BG a bit you might also tone down the flower just a tiny bit so it doesn't feel quite as stark. Lovely DOF and agree with the shadows underneath - easily corrected though!

[denise ippolito]

Thanks Roman and Jules. I appreciate the feedback. Will lighten those shadows and check out toning down the flower.