Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites)No
I love this composition, especially the partial view of the vase. The bigness and centeredness of the base really balances the three elongated flowers, at least for me! The lighting looks really nice as well.
Wonderful character in each of the buds, Ann Louise. They look like dancers in a ballet. Very nice lighting and composition.
Wonderful wabi-sabi! I do think they are more gorgeous with age. A wonderful composition to show them off, too.
One tiny nit – the yellows seem a bit featureless, maybe intentionally but I wonder about a slightly lower exposure, or a change in WB, or less saturation, or some lowering of Highlights – lots to explore but you may come back to this version, and maybe already have.
This is a great “still life”, with a fine mix of attractive and touch of sadness. I see plenty of texture in the yellows. I do see some posterization in the black, but that may be deliberate (or a JPEG 8 bit conversion issue).
@Mark_Muller @Diane_Miller @Mark_Seaver @linda_mellor : Thank you all for commenting on my photo! Diane, I did play with these settings but probably ended up close to where I started. I did not want the yellow petals to be too dark. Mark, when I looked closely at the black and lowered the exposure I could see the problem. My background is a velvet fabric. I ordered this fabric online and it came tightly folded and wrapped for shipping. After washing, I could not get the wrinkles out. The wrinkles caught the light in the other direction. Anyway, I will have to fix it with cloning. Thanks for pointing it out as I will watch for this in the future. Linda & Mark, thanks for your insights. Love the ballet analogy!
Smooth blacks backdrops are so difficult to find! Have you tried re-wetting it and letting dry flat, or maybe hanging it on a clothesline (remember those?) and letting some wind shake out wrinkles?
Yes, it’s true that getting a truly black background is challenging (been there, done that). You may be able to fix this shot simply by making the black point a bit darker.
@Mark_Seaver @Diane_Miller Thanks Mark and Diane for your suggestions. I usually fix the problem with cloning. I did wash the piece initially and dry in dryer, but I like your idea of hanging it outside…I might try to stretch it flat while it dries.
@Mark_Seaver …I will check out using the black point to adjust. Need to review technique for doing this. Thanks!
I am late to this one, just want to say that the image is a really great composition. And I agree fully that flowers, plants etc. could be amazing also (long) after their prime - there is a lot to investigate!
In a raw converter, pull the black slider to the left and watch the almost-blacks in the histogram get pulled down. But this may mess up the subject and you may have to wait till you’re in PS and can mask. If in PS, just make a Levels or Curves adjustment layer and pull the left end slider to the right until the almost-black areas are turned full black. You may need to mask off the subject.
Thanks, Diane @Diane_Miller , This is very helpful!
