Edits: Distractions were removed and the crop was pulled back to include the entire bloom.
Critique Style Requested:Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This was taken on the first day of spring at a botanical garden. A freeze had come through days before damaging the daffodils. My work focuses on the effect of weather on a landscape and the passing of time.
Specific Feedback
I like my images to feel like a memory, a little dreamy. I’m trying to find where the line is for me between fully in focus and soft. Any feedback for this as fine art would be appreciated.
Technical Details
Canon EOS R8 + 85 mm f2 Macro
1/440, f2.5, ISO-100
Edited in Lightroom
Lynsie, Welcome to NPN. You’ve got a nice “dreamy” look here. The water drops and the highlight on the flower’s base are very attractive. I do think that the leaf coming in from the bottom and the (fairly sharp) arching stem angling across the bottom of the stem do distract from focussing on the flower.
I like the shallow depth of field and the tonality of this image, Lynsie. I agree with @Mark_Seaver about some of the distractions. I don’t know if this was cropped, but if you have the rest of the upper petal, I’d suggest including it. When that little is missing, it looks more like an “oops” than a deliberate compositional choice.
@Mark_Seaver@Dennis_Plank thank you for the feedback! This was a crop, so I included the full petal and removed some of the distractions. I’m used to more of a documentary style, so I’m having to retrain my editing eye.
It works easier for people who are commenting on your image if you incorporate your updated image in the original post. To do that, click on the pencil icon at the bottom of your original post, before the first comment:
That puts you in the edit screen with the cursor at the end of your title. You can then add something like "and Repost or +RP or however you like to word it.
Then place your cursor in the top of the main editing box (3). I usually type “Repost” there, hit the return and then use the little box with an up arrow in the menu bar at the top of the edit screen to upload your revised image.
When it’s loaded, go between the text strings for the two images and label the original image as “Original”
When you’r all done, just go to the bottom and click on the Save Edit button (4).
You might also want to add a comment to the string explaining what you did in your repost as you did for this one. the big difference is that people can now toggle between the two large images to see the sometimes subtle differences.
This is an intriguing image. I like how it tells us a story but we are dropped into the middle. I think the story will take shape with additional frames.
For me, this was like a movie, where the next scene says 24 Hours Earlier and shows a couple on a bridge kissing. Eventually, a romantic flower is tossed to the ground. But why?
That’s probably not your story intent here, but the downed flower, alone and dewy, makes us ask questions. That’s a good thing!
