This is a single image showing how shallow the DOF is when the lens is this close to the subject
This one is the stack showing the nasty halo resulting from focus breathing
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This image was an exercise from an assignment at our local camera club. I wanted our members to use a processing technique that they swore they’d never use or were not comfortable with. I chose to use this image because I claim to hate AI. So, to overcome that handicap, I used the AI removal tool in Lightroom Classic to rid my image of the nasty halo that I couldn’t get rid of with the retouching tool in Helicon Focus. This flower is about 1" in diameter and my lens was as close as I could go.
Specific Feedback
I’ve darkened the background a bit to remove some of the more distracting bits back there. These flowers are quite waxy and it’s difficult to remove the shiny highlights. What do you think of that? You can see that AI slightly changed the shape of a few of the petals. What do you think of using this tool as it relates to a faithful representation of the flower?
Technical Details
Nikon D850
Sigma 105mm Macro
ISO 64, f/9, 1/30th
69 images stacked in Helicon Focus Method A (R-8, S-4)
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A lovely detailed portrait and interesting issue raised. As far as faithful, it looks reasonable. (I do clean up things sometimes, which isn’t faithful.)
I refuse to use what I think of as full-blown AI, but will use some features that I think of as “AI-assisted” that are expansions of older tools such as cloning and removal. But I would never have thought there was a way to use it to remove halos like these. Sometimes halos like this can be wiped away with the Clone tool in Lighten or Darken mode with carefully chosen sample points.
I don’t use Helicon, but with Zerene I do both a PMax and DMap and sometimes several of the latter until I hit the best adjustment slider position. Unless there are major flaws with one and not the other, I layer them in PS and mask to reveal the best parts or each. PMax often has halos like this and DMap has very clean edges — especially noticeable with light flowers on a dark BG. But DMap can have much worse halos at overlaps within a flower. PMax is also noisier so that bears matching in the 2 layers.
A very nice image, Paul, and an interesting exercise. My personal attitude toward AI is that some use is totally unavoidable. All the newer noise reduction packages are AI driven and in the northwest I’m often shooting at high iso and need the noise reductions, so that’s a given. I’ll also use the remove tool in PS which works moderately well most of the time. I’ve tried the generative fill a couple of times and found it to be less effective than the old content aware, but neither works perfectly.
I’m one of the superintendents of our county fair photography exhibit and our rule is that you cant use it to add substantive content. That said, it’s the honor system and one of our more rebellious types told me long after the fact that he used it for all of his backgrounds last year.
As for the shape of the petals, they change with your angle, the wind and the whims of genetics and environment. I don’t think a minor change due to AI is going to matter. If you’re doing a botanical specimen you squish the whole thing and that doesn’t leave it looking a while lot like reality either.
I have gotten the halos in the past and had difficulty removing them but next time I am going to try some of these suggestions even though a little different.
Mask edges
Paul: I think you got a perfectly acceptable final result without having to overdo the AI. I don’t use it much except to remove stuff that might be difficult to merely clone away. A fine exercise and thanks for the discussion point. >=))>
Looks darn good with the darker BG. I find that the brighter highlights in the petals are fine and are best handled with a polarizer during shooting. There’s a black spot on the RH lower petal that you can clone out if so desired. Well done as presented…Jim
