Well, it’s January and I’m already looking forward to Spring. I can’t wait to get out and start photographing the wild flora. This wild dogwood is growing right behind my house. It’s beautiful and very bright at night when it’s lit by a full moon.
When I took this photo I was focused on these five blossoms. The photo itself is quit busy. You could say the I pruned the tree electronically.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
At this stage of my photographic journey I don’t always know how best to present my work. Most of the time I will work on a photo, then set it aside before working on it again. Oft times my perspective is different the 2nd, 3rd… time I work on it. It’s taken me a while to get a photo I’m confident enough to share.
I’m presenting two versions of the same photo. There are things I like about both. I would like your thoughts on which you prefer.
Technical Details
Canon 5D Mark IV | ef100 Macro | f32 | 1/60s | ISO 100 | Flash w/Soft-box
Processed using ACR and Ps
I shot a stack of five photos (one for each blossom). It was too breezy though. I wasn’t able to stack them with out getting ghosting.
David, both images are quite striking. I like both. The first one has a bit of tension because of the vertical nature of the frame and the image. The Landscape one is more square framed and the blossoms feel more relaxed, and likely more natural to me. At first I would have said the first one, but on more reflection, the landscape does it for me.
I think technically there’s nothing I could recommend. Your work in B&W is awesome. The Luminosity is quite striking. And I love the all black background to simplify the subject.
Often times, like you, I sit on what I think are my better images, coming back to them over a period of days/weeks and continuing to refine and tweak. At some point my mind says, ok, that’s as close as you can get.
Your work on these shows that same multi-day reflection. Well done.
I also prefer the Landscape version. You chose a great angle to display all 5 blooms. And your f32 really paid off. I also love the roughness at each petal top, as it gives the impression of flowers battling the cold. Maybe a wee bit more space along the bottom?
I’ve been meaning to get back to this one, David. Super image! It’s dramatic and soft and I like that you’ve included several flowers on a branch instead of just one. It’s a harmonious arrangement. I quoted the post and added my thoughts for each category you want feedback for -
Cheers on pushing your boundaries! If you do make changes and have a second edit, you can add that to your original post by clicking the pencil (edit) icon. This allows us to compare both photos in the viewer one after the other. You can also edit the title with something like + 1 Rework or similar to alert the group that you have done it.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to view and comment on my photo.
I re-posted the landscape photo with a few adjustments
I added just a touch of space to the bottom and right @Mike_Friel
@Kris_Smith I cloned out the white spots in the LLC by the stem - plus a few other spots
I dodged the darker parts of the stem and then used the Brightness/Contrast adjustment tool to darken the entire stem.
On the blossoms I had already used the Hue/Saturation and Levels adjustment tools to brighten and reduce the greens, yellows & reds. I added the Selective Color adjustment tool to bring the white up more. It did kind of make the brightest parts of the white pop. Hopefully I didn’t take it too far.
Oh I like the rework. It has a little more presence and the whites look good, stem looks better too although the bright one behind in the LLC is still present.
Focus stacking this would be a trial of my patience for sure, but I would do basically what you said. Pick a focus point at the leading edge of each flower and cycle through how ever many it takes to get it all crisp. I’d have trouble seeing where the overlap areas are since the blossoms don’t line up with each other much. Then I’d stack them all in Zerene. You might need to go into slabbing for this just for time’s sake, but you can do it without that step if you want. You’ll only have 25 photos maybe and since the background is black, there won’t be much retouching.
The key is going to be wind and timing. That or cut the twig and bring it indoors. So many options - very nice to have and a really lovely subject. Now I’m sitting looking at the re-work, you could selectively isolate the centers and add some clarity there with a mask. An experiment anyway.
I think others have covered all of the details quite well.
I’d just like to say how much I like it, the third version in the landscape orientation is my preferred choice but the portrait orientation works as well, so it’s just a matter of personal preference.
David: Three’s the charm so I think you hit it right on the money with your rework. I agree with Kristen regarding the whites which are pretty darn good as is but a touch more pop would suit me a tiny bit better. Top notch capture and presentation. >=))>
