The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Wandering through a garden somewhere in the centre of France on a sunny day around noon, I found this light catcher. It looked much nicer from below.
Specific Feedback
As the photographer I am biased. I like the picture as is. But does it really stand out? Any advice on whites management and on DOF?
Technical Details
Canon Canon EOS R6
Sigma Macro lens 105mm f:2.8 (A quite old model that keeps going since 25 years. Mine dates back 4 or 5 years, but you can still buy it new.)
ƒ/2,8
1/2000
105 mm
100 ISO
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Xavier: I like everything about this. Really good compositional and capture decisions IMO and a terrific result. In my DSLR days I used a Minolta 100mm and 200mm macro. I still have those lenses because they are incredibly sharp but are a little difficult to use on my mirrorless body with an adaptor. I still pair them up on my DSLR occasionally but I’m finding myself using my 70-200 with tubes for most of my closeup work. I may need to revisit those old friends after seeing your results here. >=))>
Quite lovely! My brain does a face/vase thing, realizing I’m looking up from below and still tyring to make it more conventional. That’s good! It makes me search around in the details – an enjoyable exercise. Very well seen and rendered!
I love trying to photograph the backs/undersides of flowers. Mine never turn out like this though. Wow, the light is wonderful, the comp works very well and the background is really fine. Excellent all around, sir.
It is hard to make a simple photo work sometimes, but I think you have here. It makes me think of how fragile, yet resilient flowers are. I wonder at changing the crop to one that shows more above than below for a feeling of isolation or flight. It doesn’t necessarily mean a sad quality, but it can come off that way and might not be your intention. As it is I get positive, uplifting vibes and the flower feels firmly connected.
One way I sometimes deal with whites is to use a linear profile to begin my edit with.
If you use Lightroom at all or ACR, you could try using a linear profile created by Tony Kuyper. What that does is completely flatten your tone curve which is not what typical RAW editing profiles do. Instead those will often boost highlights and reduce shadows for immediate contrast which makes people happy. I find that with photos that have a big dynamic range, I often see that what I thought were blocked blacks and blown whites are indeed ok, and it was the Adobe or other camera profile that was creating the problems.
You can find Linear Profiles on Tony’s web page as well as more technical information about how they work and how to use and install them -
They are free and if you don’t see your camera, Tony will make one for you. He did for me!
