I would welcome your feedback on this photo. I have tried to take photos of these flowers before, but they are never that great. I seem to struggle with focus, and I often seem to have problems with them being overexposed. What do you think about this one? Is it weird that the petals are so blurred - should I have changed my f stop to give a bigger depth of field. Is it too exposed?
Thanks.
@agima I break that rule almost weekly. So much interest inside. @stuckinoz. Janelle. For each great flower shot I take at home I have about 3 great ones and 30 crappy ones. Best practice is to buy a boquet full of texture and Colorado and practice away. Do not be afraid to take different angles and use props. Check out my daisy shots in January in both the 365 and themes albums.
I think you are on the right track- but I would use manual focus and determine just what part of the flower you want to be the "subject" the part that is sharp and focused and focus on that and let the depth of field fall off everything else- It is difficult for the camera to auto focus on something like this. You do want to use a smaller aperture so the flower itself doesn't compete with the back ground. My advice is just have fun and shoot many different perspectives with different lenses if you have them. In other words "work your subject". Google flora photographers and look at other peoples work that you like and their style- figure our what it is you like and why you like it and then think about how they may have achieved that look and try to emulate it- then add your own unique style. If this is what you are interested in devote the next month to shooting flora- you will see yourself start to bloom:)
@brumbe breaking the rules can create some fantastic images, but it helps to understand why the other images work and use that knowledge in breaking the rules.
@stuckinoz - Hi Janelle, I would first like to say thank you to @scottkaway Scott, that's a nice thing to say, and secondly; "I think Hibiscus Flowers are tough to take a great photo of"... That stamen that sticks out can really mess with your mind, do I want that sharp, do I accept that blurred, ai ai ai!!!
@brumbe - Like Paula says, angle angle angle... try different angles to see what is working for you. The shot of mine that Scott has placed here worked for me as it is an unusual angle for a Hibiscus
And again for this other Hibiscus shot. Again and different angle.
Having said all that, I like your shot, you have thought about making it different, with only shooting 1/3rd of the petals... Hibiscus are heavily veined, so a bit more depth in your shot would just bring out a nice edge to those petals.
Firstly can I just say thanks to everyone for their feedback. It's the first time I've asked for critique, and it was really helpful. So thanks.
@agima Thanks Brendan, I did not know that basic rule about shooting across the flower, so I will have to try that next time, and see what it looks like. Nice to know the rules, so you can see how/why they work, and then know when they are best to be broken/altered. @scatochef I have had a look at Denise daly - loads of great flowers, so that will be helpful. thanks @brumbe I did have alot of rejects - this was the best of a bad lot. I think I will buy a bunch of flowers and practice some more. I was trying to get the stamen in focus, but like @bobfoto says, they are hard to shoot, because the stamen sticks out so much further than the petals. @bobfoto Thanks for your feedback. I do find hibiscus hard to photograph, coz of the stamen sticking out so far. I was happy with only the third of the petals showing, because it let the stamen be more prominent in the photo. Will try to see if I can get some more depth to the next one.
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@stuckinoz. Janelle. For each great flower shot I take at home I have about 3 great ones and 30 crappy ones. Best practice is to buy a boquet full of texture and Colorado and practice away. Do not be afraid to take different angles and use props. Check out my daisy shots in January in both the 365 and themes albums.
@brumbe - Like Paula says, angle angle angle... try different angles to see what is working for you. The shot of mine that Scott has placed here worked for me as it is an unusual angle for a Hibiscus
And again for this other Hibiscus shot. Again and different angle.
Having said all that, I like your shot, you have thought about making it different, with only shooting 1/3rd of the petals... Hibiscus are heavily veined, so a bit more depth in your shot would just bring out a nice edge to those petals.
@agima Thanks Brendan, I did not know that basic rule about shooting across the flower, so I will have to try that next time, and see what it looks like. Nice to know the rules, so you can see how/why they work, and then know when they are best to be broken/altered.
@scatochef I have had a look at Denise daly - loads of great flowers, so that will be helpful. thanks
@brumbe I did have alot of rejects - this was the best of a bad lot. I think I will buy a bunch of flowers and practice some more. I was trying to get the stamen in focus, but like @bobfoto says, they are hard to shoot, because the stamen sticks out so much further than the petals.
@bobfoto Thanks for your feedback. I do find hibiscus hard to photograph, coz of the stamen sticking out so far. I was happy with only the third of the petals showing, because it let the stamen be more prominent in the photo. Will try to see if I can get some more depth to the next one.