Orchids

[ktreffin]

Hi Everyone,

I am hoping that you guys and gals might be able to give me a few comments / suggestions with this image. Go easy, this is my first critique here at PR... I visited Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota Florida recently while the Orchids were blooming. I was able to get quite a few images that I thought weren't too awful bad to my very untrained eye....I am hoping that I might be able to get a few pointers on how I may improve this kind of shot. Thanks for your time.

The image was produced using my Canon Digital Rebel with my 50mm f1.8 1/1000sec at f2.0

Thanks again for looking and commenting...

Ken

[Frog]

The composition isn't too bad except that it always bugs me when a petal leads off frame..in this case on the left.
At 1/1000 you got good exposure and nice background but I think the dof is too shallow.
I think you could have used 3.6 or even 5.6 with a slower shutter and kept more of the flower in focus and still had a good blurred background.
Keep shooting!

[PhoebeG]

Nice shot. A couple of things that I do when shooting flowers:

Keep the center of the flower in one of the "rule of thirds" zones unless its some type of macro, symetrical, abstract picture. In other words, not centered.

Try to keep from shooting in direct sunlight.

Either include the whole flower in the image, or concentrate the view to a portion that I want you to notice more than the rest. Done by selective focus and/or cropping (while taking the picture or post processing).

Again, nice shot. Keep posting.

Phil G.

[ktreffin]

Thanks Frog and PhoebeG! Excellent advice, thanks for the suggestions.

Ken

[shootme]

Great colors, might have taken a different angle myself to capture the inside of the orchid. If you plan on taking flower shots again, take with you a small water mister/spray, add a couple of drops of water to the petals, with the right light it can be quite effective. S