The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This file has been sitting on a hard drive for over 20 years. It’s one of those files that at first glance looks interesting, but upon closer examination was deemed not worthy of processing.
Now that I’m learning LRC, I came across it again and decided to see what could be done with it. It was shot with an extremely narrow DOF that rendered only some of the “open mouths” sharp, so I decided to get a little creative with it: desaturation, contrast, color temperature, tonal adjustments, sharpening and a little vignetting.
Specific Feedback
I kind of like the results, but I’m not sure if anyone else would give it more than a passing glance. Taken in the dead of winter it’s not exactly a “bright and cheerful” floral image, but your thoughts on this resurrected file are appreciated nonetheless!
Technical Details
Canon 10D
EF50 F1.4 USM
f/1.4 @ 1/160, ISO 100
Processed in LRC
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Wow! I think this is VERY worth resurrecting! I would not have guessed it was an old capture. The composition is lovely and the shallow DOF works vey well. The colors are very pleasing with the matching BG.
It would be very interesting to soften the three lighter areas in the BG radiating out from the center. LR is getting much more powerful but as a PS user I’m not up on its latest tools. But it would be pretty easy in PS. I had a play with a low opacity clone brush.
I like your take on this. I had to tone down the pedals center-top on the original file as they were really bright. The image is so dark as is I was reluctant to go any further, but I now see that works nicely.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and offer an alternative version!
Jim: We always seek the pristine and perfect flowers but there can be compelling beauty in some past their prime. I think you’ve found some of that beauty here. I also like what @Diane_Miller did. Indeed our modern software can revive old images and give them new life. for this one. >=))>
I’m glad you saved this one, Jim. I wanted to play with this one as well, but since you titled it “Open Mouths” and used that relatively shallow depth of field, I just cropped down to concentrate on the in-focus cluster and really give them center stage. With the original file, you should be able to get better image quality than I could. Just another approach.
