A single Rose . .

Shot of a Rose in front of a black backdrop with 150 watt light from top right. Fuji superia 100, Tamron 70-300 zoom at about 200mm.
Comments and advice would be appreciated.

Wow, this is beautiful! Just a couple of suggestions... or maybe even just questions for my own benefit... Would a reflector on the left side have avoided the balck shading on the left petal? I wonder whether a slightly less severe crop would benefit this photo by giving it some room to breathe and not cropping the leaves. Also, I can't help being distracted by the really warm (not quite hot) spots on the leaves - they almost look a little unreal. Just some comments/questions.

It is definately something I would be proud of! Does the Tamron have a macro function? The detail in the petals is exceptional. I was thinking about a Tamron lense for travelling. What do you think of it?

Thanks for posting this - you can probably tell from my posts that this type of photography is my interest area.

Fran

about a wider crop and the leaves looking oversaturated and flourescent...maybe a softer or lower wattage bulb.

the details in the areas in the foreground(front petal) are very nice and really portay the waxy soft feel of the rose petals. I also like the dew drops and the stakness of red against the black...

Unfortunately the contrast takes everything to an extreme and you loose details in the center of the rose and lose petal detail in the shadowed areas.

It seems this would be a definite re-shoot because you aren't far off from a very nice piece.

almost there :)

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Originally Posted by gahspidy

Shot of a Rose in front of a black backdrop with 150 watt light from top right. Fuji superia 100, Tamron 70-300 zoom at about 200mm.
Comments and advice would be appreciated.

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First let me say that I sure am no expert in this type of photography in particular. However I would like to make a couple of observations. I think your detail and texture in the image are excellent. As for the light it is a little harsh for my taste and I would have prefered it to highlight the delicate nature of the rose more. I am a big fan of the tight crop, but in this photo the loss of the leaves seems to make the image incomplete. I would have also like to see a little angle to the stem rather than a straight up pesentation. I think this is a excellent attempt and deserves praise, but I also think that with a with adjustment to you light and setup you could improve your image. Let see some more.

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Originally Posted by frannymac

Wow, this is beautiful! Just a couple of suggestions... or maybe even just questions for my own benefit... Would a reflector on the left side have avoided the balck shading on the left petal? I wonder whether a slightly less severe crop would benefit this photo by giving it some room to breathe and not cropping the leaves. Also, I can't help being distracted by the really warm (not quite hot) spots on the leaves - they almost look a little unreal. Just some comments/questions.

It is definately something I would be proud of! Does the Tamron have a macro function? The detail in the petals is exceptional. I was thinking about a Tamron lense for travelling. What do you think of it?

Thanks for posting this - you can probably tell from my posts that this type of photography is my interest area.

Fran

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Thanks for your comments Frannymac. Yes, I agree that a reflector on the left side would have been helpful, and I will be experimenting with this shot again with adjustments in my lighting. Also will try to get a better specimen for the subject as this was a "cheap" rose that I picked up at a deli in NYC on the way home from work that night with the intentions of photographing it. It was not a fresh rose and those discolorations you see on it are probably signs of age enhanced by the lighting and shadows.I did not do very much in psp. The lens is a macro lens 1:2 70-300 LD macro. Very good for being under $200.00 It does not feel rugged of quality, but if you are gentle with it it should be around for a long time. As for the cropping, I like the in your face tight crop and shot it this way. But after reading other comments about the too tight crop and the wanting to see more of the leaves, I'll be reconsidering. Thanks . . .
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Natalie and Old Timer,

Thanks for your time to comment. I too think the light is too harsh and will be trying a few reshoots of this. And since all have suggested the crop a bit too tight losing the leaves, I will be keeping that in mind. As always, your comments are very helpful and much appreciated. Thanks . . .

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the info on the lens... I really like using close cropping in floral images too (as you can probably tell from my Avitar). I've been trying to work out why my opinion is altered by this shot, and I think it is because all other parts of the rose are in frame - the leaves 'feel' like they should be too. Anyway, something I've learnt from this forum is that cropping aesthetics are valued differently by each individual... Your image has great potential - can't wait to see the next one.

Fran