The white orchid looked a little flat in colour (OK white will be a bit flat, but the rest of the shot did too), so I decided to try a high contrast black and white in Photoshop elements.
How did I do the conversion? Like all my conversions I just fiddle with a few slider bars... contrast, brightness, red, blue and green filters and that is about it !
I've got no technique, I just move the slider bars until I think it looks OK.
I like your philosophy! Moving the slider til it feels right is what i consider the artistic part of photography. I tried all kind of effects on the backgrounds of my 2 photos yesterday before I was satisfied. That was even more fun than actually taking the picture.
@allie912 Thanks Allison, I've read on web forums where people create macros / recordings / actions on their photo editing software of choice, so they can replicate them on other pictures. It's like you say though, each picture is different, so you just go with what looks and feels right. Glad you like the composition.
@vvpe Veronica, you are spot on about the floor. I've done a few still lifes on on the same floor. I think if I placed the plant on some white / cream card or a piece of material I will get a better result. Thanks for the tip :). My next still life will be without floor :)
@gill Awww Gill, thank you for the 'lovely' comment. My back lighting was just a floor lamp from 'British Home Stores' (quite a nice trendy lamp I might add !!! )
@jennlouise Jennie thanks for yoour comment and you are right it was a bit of an experiment, I've not really done much still life / table top photography before.
