Lilly and Leaf

[Irish]

I have a lillies growing in my garden and love the shape of the flower which does not go pure white but stays partly green. The leaves also have an interesting edge, almost like ruffles at times. I have taken different photos of this plant but have not found an angle to do it justice yet.

I took the image below which shows both the leaf and flower structure. I am not sure about the cenral placement of the flower or the way the leaf structure dominates the left of the image..........any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Please tell me if you think this composition works or not

LILLY & LEAF

[shesells]

I have a lillies growing in my garden and love the shape of the flower which does not go pure white but stays partly green. The leaves also have an interesting edge, almost like ruffles at times. I have taken different photos of this plant but have not found an angle to do it justice yet.

I took the image below which shows both the leaf and flower structure. I am not sure about the cenral placement of the flower or the way the leaf structure dominates the left of the image..........any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Please tell me if you think this composition works or not

LILLY & LEAF

Irish, That flower is so perfect, it almost looks like the leaf but with white. Lilies rule. I think you should bring out more color that was under the leaf, instead of the dark. I like the look of those little pink things peeking out. Here's how I picture it. I just went after some of the color that was originally there and cropped it on the left leaf to accent that wonderful wavy look. You could clone out that bit of green that I left out of lazyness. lol (lower right) Your crop is just as good, as is the compostion.
Kit

[cjsoap]

I really like this shot without the crop. Somehow the Lily being surrounded by all the green is very pleasing to me, however I do agree with the deeper pink showing in Seashells version. Green and pink compliment. It really is a nice shot! )
CJ

[fgottman]

I think I like shesells' version better, if only because there's less distraction from the large area of green. The edited version gives me the feeling that the flower is the focus of the shot peeking out behind a hint of a leaf rather than sharing the spotlight with the leaf as in the original. I am curious as to what this flower looks like from above (ie a shot taken straight on and "down the pipe," so to speak). I do like the crispness and the DOF. Overall, a good shot IMO.

[Chunk]

I have a lillies growing in my garden and love the shape of the flower which does not go pure white but stays partly green. The leaves also have an interesting edge, almost like ruffles at times. I have taken different photos of this plant but have not found an angle to do it justice yet.

I took the image below which shows both the leaf and flower structure. I am not sure about the cenral placement of the flower or the way the leaf structure dominates the left of the image..........any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Please tell me if you think this composition works or not

LILLY & LEAF

You've captured the beautiful curves and stuctures well. I think it might be a little stronger if the subject were at an angle to the edge of the frame.

[cjsoap]

Chunk,
I popped back in to take another look and found you version.
I like it!!
CJ

[gahspidy]

I like the original , but would agree with Chunk about having tilted the camera slightly so the leaf in the left is not so straight with the frame. Nice subject.

[Irish]

Sorry to all for not replying sooner........ I read your comments and posts at the time and thought I had responded.....my profound appologies.

Kit, I like your crop. I think it works very, only showing the edge of the leaf and lifting the other colour.

Chunk, I see what you are trying to do with the angle....I was hoping to enter this in a local photo club comp......frames are frowned apon.....your post would be considered a frame as such.......I have tried to use this idea in cropping the image at an angle but remain unhappy with the result.

Thanks to the others for joining the discussion....I found this flower hard to photograph as very large and there is littlle difference in size between the flower and leaf........will have to wait till the thing blooms again next year and try again.

Andy S

[Chunk]

Chunk, I see what you are trying to do with the angle....I was hoping to enter this in a local photo club comp......frames are frowned apon.....your post would be considered a frame as such.......I have tried to use this idea in cropping the image at an angle but remain unhappy with the result.
Andy S

Sorry I wan't clearer in what I intended. I meant my suggestion to be a way to approach this sort of subject when taking the picture rather than a way of displaying the posted shot. I had filled in the corners of the rotated image to substitute for surrounding foliage and seperate the photo from the surrounding stark white rather than to indicate using a crooked mask. Turning the camera to have that leaf be an angled element would have made the shot a little more interesting I thought.

Did you enter your rusty bucket in competition?

[Elysian]

Too many distractions and a composition that's not dynamic enough in my view.
A different angle and avoiding to capture everything you see can sometimes be more effective:

[Irish]

Sorry I wasn't clearer in what I intended. I meant my suggestion to be a way to approach this sort of subject when taking the picture rather than a way of displaying the posted shot. I had filled in the corners of the rotated image to substitute for surrounding foliage and seperate the photo from the surrounding stark white rather than to indicate using a crooked mask. Turning the camera to have that leaf be an angled element would have made the shot a little more interesting I thought.

My mistake Chunk, your post did make me think about the orientation of the leaf and flower so you achieved what you set out to do in a round about way.

Did you enter your rusty bucket in competition?

Thanks for asking. Yes I did called it "Handle" and scored well in the comp - 9 out of 10 - a merit
Infact I took another shot of some rusty plate and rivets yesterday while in the middle of a paddock. I try to keep an eye out for simple detail now. See what you started??

Andy S

[Irish]

Too many distractions and a composition that's not dynamic enough in my view.
A different angle and avoiding to capture everything you see can sometimes be more effective:

This is great Elysian, I have a few shots simmilar to the crop you posted, sometimes less of the image has more impact than showing the whole........ but it does not do what I set out to do, ie contrast the shape and colour of the leaf against the flower.

What do you mean by the term "dynamic"????????

Thanks
Andy S

[Elysian]

What do you mean by the term "dynamic"?

Let me first explain what I mean by static. I think your image is static, because I can find about 4 vertical lines that are quite straight. The focal point is almost in the center and one can sense a strong vertical line (not visible) splitting the image in half; 50/50

What do I think about when I talk about static? Straight or lined up, centered, same sizes, same shapes, standing still, organized, etc. (as a guideline though, because some shots have some of these elements in them and are still dynamic)

Dynamic is the opposite and I've tried to show that in my example, by making use of diagonals, moving focal point, making the image less organized and things like that.
The crop is a bit tight on left side, but that's because I didn't have more to work with.

See, my example was not an example of what to do with this photograph, it was an example of how to approach a shot like this when you're in the field.

but it does not do what I set out to do, ie contrast the shape and colour of the leaf against the flower.

Then you should try something different next time, like for example the approach in this example.
But don't make it too static and don't try to fit everything in one shot if not really needed, sometimes less is better.

[Chunk]

Thanks for asking. Yes I did called it "Handle" and scored well in the comp - 9 out of 10 - a merit
Infact I took another shot of some rusty plate and rivets yesterday while in the middle of a paddock. I try to keep an eye out for simple detail now. See what you started??

Andy S

Congrats on the merit. It was a nice shot.

[Irish]

Thanks Elysian, your explaination was plain and simple. I understand static but dynamic is a little harder to come to terms with. Your example makes a lot of sense and probably explains why there was something that disturbed me about the first image I posted. There is a creek near home that has lilles growing so I will venture out with your info in mind and try try try again.

Thanks again Chunk.

Andy S