I took a couple of pictures of these daisies and I was hoping some of you could help a beginner with a few tips to make the pictures better. Thanks for all your help:)

These aren't all that bad. The main thing here is highlights, and keeping them under control. The light seems a little harsh, some fill flash would help (or a diffuser). Here's a couple ideas...

- Spot meter on the white part(s) of the flower and bring up the shadows during pp

- Go manual and get a reading from an object that is 18% gray and in the same light

Welcome to N/W! Stick around and have fun.

The best time to shoot id early morning and late day when the sun is at it's most pleasing. Also, clouds are your friend when shooting mid day. Clouds defuse the sun , which makes for a more pleasing, even light.

I think you did quite well none the less!!!!

Good start - the more you post and the more you view, the faster you'll learn!

Thanks for posting :thumbsup:

Great start. :thumbsup: I find that in close-up flower shots, the best thing (for me) is to only have one flower in the picture and the background very out of focus. The background flower and the dark bits in it (in the second shot) are slightly out of focus and detract a bit from the over all image, but keep on trying and experimenting.

Alternatively, a whole field of wildflowers is also quite appealing.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

Thanks for all the tips. Since I'm new to all this, I didn't understand how to do 19% but at least I tried some suggestions. When you shoot flowers what should I be shooting in, aperture, manual, shutter? I think shooting daisies is hard with the white, most of my pictures to me looked blurry. Any suggestions I would sure appreciate them. Attached are 2 more pictures that could use advice. Thanks again for all your help. Maybe someday, I won't be such a beginner!!

what gear are you using? what was said basicly was take a reading off the green grass and use those settings to take the white flower images at proper exposure(F5.6 AND 1/250TH..... MADE UP READING)

This daisy doesn't look too bad on exposure to me, but the harsh sun did blow some highlights. try under exposing them alittle in camera or meter the flower, not the sceen.

Guess I wasn't the only one out shooting daisies today :) Preference wise, I like a little blowout on the highlights of daisies. I think you're on the right track but, might work on the crop just a hair so it's not dead center. Here's (http://gallery.photographyreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=75314&size=big&cat=524) a shot of one I took today. Keep up the good work and hang around here. Plenty of excellent photographers to learn from :)

What does blow out on the highlights mean (I'm a beginner and not sure what that means)
Liked your daisy picture. Thanks for the help:)

paulnj, I had to read your tip a couple of times before I understood what you meant. Now I will have to go and take those daisies again... I'm really hating daisies but a friend wants a picture so I'm trying to do a good job. Any tips on the best way to get a proper reading. What I do is take a picture and then check the histogram then make what I think are better adjustments. Is that the right way???

blowing out the highlights is over exposing the highlights which renders them very white with no detail.

If you have a histogram, then you should be able to bracket or adjust the exposer down and up?(+/- EV). Take alot of images of the same sceen at different Exposure Value adjustments(bracketing your shots).

Another trick is to shade the flower with a sheer white sheet(cuts down the harsh lighting just enough)