Dahlia 1

[Dennis_Plank]

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

I stopped by the Olympia Farmer’s Market Saturday and picked up 5 assorted stems from Dan’s Dahlias. I spent some time yesterday photographing them, mostly closer than this, but I liked the entire bloom best of the shots.

Specific Feedback

In addition to cleanup of odd spots in the petals, I used a Color Mask from the TK9 panel to pick the yellow centers of the florets and increased the saturation and luminosity of those areas to try to impart a glow to the bloom (it already looked like it to me,but I wanted to enhance what was there a bit). Was I successful? Does it look artificially enhanced?

Technical Details

Sony A7Riv, FE 70-200 f/4 macro @ 120 mm, tripod and cable release, f/22, 1/4 sec, iso 320. Light was indirect illumination from a skylight in the bathroom, background was a sheet of black foam core. Cropped horizontally a bit and canvas added to top.

[Diane_Miller]

So cool!! Dahlias are simply outrageous and this one is definitely holding its own! The bloom is very 3D. The yellows look perfectly natural and I think that was a great idea, well executed. Fun little detail with the border, too!

[Kris_Smith (Kristen M Smith)]

More in the dahlia deluge! This one stands out nicely and does appear quite 3D so I don’t blame you for including the whole of the flower head. The use of graduated color is a good one and looks natural to me. I especially like the way the edges of the petals stand out. I’m thinking of using a similar technique with color to illustrate a different concept and thought that some of the new masks in TK9 might help me do it. Hmmm.

[Phil_G (Phil Greenwood)]

This is beautiful Dennis, I just love floral images with pure black backgrounds. It intensifies the colours of flowers and enhances contrast and depth, giving a 3D feeling. A really nice photo. Cheers.