Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
April is time for the tulips to bloom in Skagit County. I liked the brilliant colors and being next to another budding tulip with its red reflection.
Any advice is appreciated.
OM-1 Mark ll, OM 12-100mm, 77mm, 1/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200
LR for cropping and minor adjustments.
Charlie: I would love to see the tulip display in Skagit county. Our sub-tropical climate just won’t let us do well with tulips. My only small suggestion for improvement would be to crop the partial bud on the left edge but that’s pretty minor. Nicely done. >=))>
Quite colorful and I can see the attraction, but I don’t see a lot of intention in this shot. Not every shot needs it if it’s just for fun, but if you want to elevate this from a snapshot there are a couple things you can do. Take some time to study why you were attracted to the subject. The two states of bloom are the focus as is that reflection on the bud (which is so delightful, btw). Isolating those in a more obvious way would have been good. Maybe using a longer lens to throw the background OOF might have worked. Using a diffuser would have helped the leaves be less shiny and bright which would have also helped. Did you try other angles and perspectives? Moving around the subject with different heights and angles is a great way to understand how the scene can be framed and it can also tell you that maybe it just won’t work as a photo. I walk away from plenty of things that catch my eye, but just can’t be presented in a 2D photo. This might have been one of them, and that’s ok, but only after you’ve given it some consideration and worked the scene. After years of doing that, you can get pretty good at understanding what will translate and what won’t. Back in film days this mattered more, but even now my time is what’s valuable and I don’t want to waste it with subjects that just won’t come across well.
So I didn’t mean to be negative, but to help you with some techniques and habits you can get into in order to make the most of what lights up your brain. Have a look at some of the tulip, lily and other photos in this category and pick out the ones that really catch your eye and study why they work and what made you want to study them. It’s a great way to progress your own work in ways that will give you even more satisfaction. Keep 'em coming!! 
Thank you very much. This is the type of feed back that I hope for.. Now, relooking at the photo, I can see how your suggestions could help improve the subject. Also, it was only one shot. I was so entranced with the color, I really didn’t think too much beyond.
Thanks , again.
Charlie
You are very welcome! I’m trying to do a better job with critique and hoped this would land nicely for you and I’m glad it did. I’ll keep an eye out for new stuff from you.
