Cosmos
Nikon D300, Sigma 105mm macro 2.8, f32, 6 sec., ISO 160, manual focus (live view), manual exposure, tripod, indoors, natural light, foam board BG. PP: PS7, only basic adjustments, crop, added border.
I think there is too much negative space for the size of the flowers. I plan to experiment with adding a texture to add interest to the negative space, but unfortunately I won't be able to post the resulting image here. Not sure I like the border.
Anita, I love the image design. Is there a slight blue cast on the flowers? I'm not sold on the border either. That said I love the negative space and the white BG is pleasing.
Anita, the flowers look great but I think I'd like a different crop. Something starting at about where the 3 stems join together and adding a sliver to the top and the left would be about right.
I'm also not thrilled with the border. :)
Looking at the crop I like the inclusion of the stuff at the bottom. Maybe a longer piece of stem below that and an even more vertical crop? I do like the way the flowers play off each other and the spatial relationship between the two. I do think with all this white BG you need a border but maybe something thinner or softer would work better? If you do add a texture to this I'd definitely remove the border for sure.
Denise: There was a blue cast, which I've tried to remove.
Ken: I cropped as suggested, and like it better, but miss the bit at the bottom.
Jules: I think I have a vertical of this; will try working on it.
All: No border.
THANKS.:D
Hi
Along with the others I cannot honestly say that the border really appeals to my tastes either, I think a simple light grey would suit the negative white spaces better – but that’s just really a taste related remark and easily changed.
Compositionally I feel this works well enough; you were obviously attracted to the stem twists and curls, and these do indeed make for an eye interesting design. So overall I feel this image has nice appeal as seen.
Regarding suggestions – I’d consider trying a similar composition type with the white flowered variety of this plant, I feel perhaps this would simplify the colour aspects of the image, and allow a more concentrated view upon the floral shape / stems. It would also perhaps allow an overall high key lighting / exposure look which would perhaps appeal to your tastes.
I would also consider a little more directional lighting, the lighting you have used is indeed nice for the subject material, but perhaps appears a little flat for those important green areas???
Some suggestions you might wish to consider – but mostly just an enjoyable view
All the best
Matthew
Anita, I like it w/o the border but I prefer the stuff on the bottom-it adds interest IMO.
Amazing image. Loved the high-key BG. Very beautifully crafted image.
Anita:Originally Posted by Anita Bower
The graceful stems and the positions of the blossoms and buds make this a work of art.
I like the original better too, and think that the curvaceous elements present at the bottom of the original make a strong contribution to the overall image. The absence of the border in the repost, however, is probably a positive change. I find where image critique is the objective, borders tend to be a bit of a distraction.
I agree with you that the negative space is a bit too dominant. But I wonder whether simply replacing the white with a soft, complementary color might not be as effective as adding texture. A further suggestion would be to increase the saturation of the green elements, to make them more pronounced.:)
But TFS.
Hey Anita,
man.....am I late to the party! As a general rule.....I don't want a border......but here is the issue.....It depends where and what color BG you present it. Here on BPN....a 2 or 3 pixel black border.....generally works best...to get seperation.....colors get into the personal preference field. My vote goes to OP post.....love the stems....fine/really like the high key BG......small black border for BPN presentation.....you've got a winner in my book!
Beautiful - gorgeous and fantastic, I even like the border!! I like both posts, on reflection I think I like the composition a little more on the second image but really outstanding images. I could stare all day at flowers like these and never capture the image I wanted. I will have to try to make a mental not of this composition.
Hey Anita, I really like the original comp, my sugestion would be to add more saturation to the stems to make them pop more. I don't mind the negative space and like the white bg, border color doesn't bother me.
I really like the first image... the flowers look so fragile. I have never worked with a white BG, but seeing this kind of image tells me I should expand my perspective. I feel the leaves at the bottom add a nice touch to it as well.
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