Flowers ...

[GB1]

Shot these today - no award winners here I don't think, but not sure how I could have improved them. I tried a fill flash but it washed them out too much. Maybe FF would still be good but set at lower intensity. Perhaps an out of focus fake background, like those thick colored papers you see in art stores?

Btw, not to make excuses, but the wind was kicking today..

G

[LeeIs]

Out of these the 2nd one is the one that appeals to me. I like the contrast of both colour and depth of field that separates them from the bg very well.

#1. there's a large flower in front of it that's very out of focus that distracts my eyes.

#3. not a pretty looking flower .the petals have wholes in them, and some are folded. also there's a large out of focus really bright yellow in the back that's very overwhelming.

#4. This one had the greatest potential out of the 4. BUT the flower itself isn't that great looking. too many folds and imperfections.

GB, I think you should look for a really perfect flower for these types of shots.

[GB1]

Thks Liban. I am so impatient when shooting flowers. I need to do what you say and look before I shoot. I'm sure there's better ones out there. I used a flash on the bottom shot btw.

G

[Anbesol]

I like the way you controlled DOF and angle (a feat in wind shooting flowers). The third has an uncanny and sort of unpleasant colored background. I really like the rest though.

[StormGirl_LP]

I like the 2nd composition the best, but I would have like even more DOF. What lens did you use? And did you use a camera with a crop sensor?

The only other thing I see are somewhat harsh shadows, especially on the 3rd and 4th shot. Two good props for shooting florals outside are a 25" portable light diffuser for around $13 & a wind panel (e.g. large piece of card board) You'll also need an assitant or a tripod, remote trigger and some patience. OR finish shooting before 7:45am on calm days. The wind won't start moving until around 8:00am and the sun is still at long angles.

[GB1]

Anbesol - Thanks. but you don't like the blue background eh.. I admit that it is somewhat surreal. I adjusted the original in PPing, maybe I went a little beyond the believable.

Stormy, I used a tamron 90mm macro. I've had it for ~ 15 years and it's a great role lens. Perhaps the DOF is a half or full stop too shallow.. what is a crop sensor? I think I used center weighted metering on this one. I didn't use fill flash on it but perhaps should have tried that as an experiment........ The 4th one I did use fill. I actually do have a reflector kit with 2 expandable reflectors - one is silver/gold, and the other is semi transparent, so I think this is a diffuser (nice when you have what you need, but don't even know it huh ). I will try it this weekend. I do need a wind panel though it would not have worked in this situation since the wind was blowing from the same angle as the sunlight. I'll see if I can get my lazy *** up and down there early this time I think it will be just me (hard to find mascots in San Diego - everyone's more interested in partying). Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

G

[StormGirl_LP]

I guess a crop sensor is what you would use to determine if soy or corn were growing in a field. I should have said "cropped sensor;" (e.g. Canon 40D as opposed to the full frame 5D.)

Good luck, they look good.

[GB1]

Oh Ok that makes sense. Yeah it was a cropped sensor, the Nikon D200. I want to get a FF camera, looking at the D700 but it's too expensive at this pt.

[Dan001]

I like the 1st and 4th one but i'm not the one to give good critique. Just my opion - i like em.