Finally had some gigantic flowers this week!
Does the 1:1 format work for this image? All comments and suggestions are welcome and thanks for viewing.
Fujifilm X-H2, ISO 800, f/11, 1/17, -1.33 EV, AWB, XF 16-80mm lens @ 26mm (35mm equiv.), tripod, using in-camera focus stack (about 10 if I recall- just learning it). Processing included adjustments to exposure and contrast.
Oh what a sweet subject. I think a square crop works, but I might be looser with it and experiment. Another thing I would try is placing the light differently to bring up some texture and modeling in the flower. Here the light looks pretty flat. The reds look good, but maybe the mid tones could use a lift overall. And I’m on the fence about in-camera image stacking - it’s never as good as using Zerene or Helicon. For example in this one the stamen and petals in the far flower seem sharper than in the main subject in front. I find the cameras are odd in this way, picking and choosing what they think is the thing you want. Definitely worth trying again though since these are so beautiful and perfect right now. The deep black background keeps us looking as does their freshness.
Thank you @Kris_Smith for your very detailed and helpful advice. Yeah, I’ve had more success doing a manual stack in the past and I like your idea of moving the lighting…I used 2 but perhaps they need to be angled more.
I like the red color of this flower. It looks good on the black BG. I think the square format works well for this picture. IMHO the flower at the top might make the main subject less standing out. How about making it blurred or taking it away, if possible at the spot or later.
I find angled light brings up more texture and shape than front-facing light. If I can pull it off with natural light I do, but often I use a small LED panel in the field. It works great for small scenes like this.
I love amaryllis. They always look so majestic and I’m always amazed by how fast they grow. I agree with Kristenabout trying to move the lights to give this a bit more dimensionality.
Hi @Nao_Koju , thank you for critiquing my flower photo and your kind comments. You’re absolutely correct about the front flower not standing out as well. I actually took a lower f/stop shot when doing the series, but I kinda liked the one I posted with everything (almost!) in focus. Plus, it would be really hard to eliminate the rear flower and I’m not inclined to do more post-processing than I absolutely have to 
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