Chrysanthemum

Gallery: FloraPosted January 2, 2012221 views7 comments

Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Tamron f/2.8 90mm macro
1/1/2012 – 11:34:57 AM
13.0 sec
Manual
f/32
ISO 200
Tripod
Dining room, natural light
Raw, LR3, CS5

I bought a few flowers about to try shooting, and the more I work with the images the more I see wrong with them. But I want to post one or two of them to see what you think.

On this one, the center is too centered. I know sometimes that's okay, but is this one where it's okay? This is full frame, and it seemed to me that if I cropped it would remove what I think is the appealing part of the composition, which is the way the petals look.

I used f/32 thinking that I could maintain relative focus but knowing that it would still not be sharp like stacking. But is it too soft for having used f/32? Should it be sharper?

Also, I'm using foam board for the background, and I don't love it. Is there something better for indoor images that are not full frame?

Comments and suggestions on the above or anything else would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on January 2, 2012 at 1:49 AM

Barbara: The comp works for me. Having the flower on a diagonal orientation solves the centering issue for me. As for the f32, I'm still not sold on going there. I've found that careful POF management in a comp like this allows acceptable and even superior sharpness at f22 and sometimes even f16. I think the foam board is OK. I often use mat paper as it seems to have a flat rendering with few reflections. I think the color you used here works very nicely. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on January 2, 2012 at 6:15 AM

I think your decision on centring is fine, Barbara - ok, you've broken a ` rule ', but I agree with you that the flow of the petals makes this image and the centre just fits into place nicely. Bill has said what I might have on the aperture; a black or white fabric or paper backdrop is perhaps the norm for this type of shot but colour can work well ( and I think the dark blue is nice here ) with the right flower. I like the comp very much.

Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on January 2, 2012 at 8:39 AM

Barbara, nice one. I have no problem with the centered comp at all. In fact, I think its quite good. I agree with Bill that angling the subject overcame any issues with a static centered comp. I do think I'd like to see a little more of the base of the bloom in this comp, but I don't feel strongly about it. Personally, I also have no with using f32 for this comp. A larger lens opening would have made the front petal more out of focus, which may have then been distracting. Had you angled the flower more downward (i.e., toward the plane of focus), I think you could have then gotten by with a larger lens opening which would have helped the sharpness, but I think center sharpness is fine. The lighting, by the way, is quite good, as is the overall presentation, although I'd personally clone the tiny specs or dots.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Anne K. Rusk on January 2, 2012 at 7:55 PM

Hey, Barbara! I like the centered composition here. I feel like a centered subject isn't as taboo in macro as it is with other subjects.
The f32 seems to be fine for me on this one.
For the foam board question, I didn't used to like it either, until I realized my issue was that it was too close to the subject to give the effect I was going for. I now set the board 3 feet or more away from the subject and have a much more uniform color blur in my bg. I have also used cloth (sheets, drapery panels), but still put them far away so I don't pick up any characteristics of the bg that I don't want.
Well done!

Registered on October 10, 2010, 65 Posts, 904 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on January 3, 2012 at 11:41 PM

Works for me. I like it a lot. At this level of macro work, even f/32 will not allow for enough sharpness, unless your subject parallels the film plane. But it's the only way to acheive reasonable sharpness without stacking software. I think the newer versions of PS allow for stacking images. But I think you have to do a lot of manual layer blending. Beyond my capabilities. I like your BG here. I think the foam board worked in this instance. For a darker BG I usually like a piece of black velvet cloth. Or you can get all kinds of nice soft colored BG's by shooting something out of focus and printing them up to place behind your subject. Print a bunch up and you can carry them with you.

Registered on February 11, 2004, 777 Posts, 5252 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 4, 2012 at 12:24 PM

The comp is fine. There is so much eye movement in the petals that having the center centered is not a problem. Great job.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Grabski on January 7, 2012 at 11:44 AM

I like this shot. Some time I tried f32 with orchids and I was not pleased with the result. However it works here.

Registered on April 29, 2011, 122 Posts, 431 Comments