Flowers

[baddness]

This is my first attempt at flowers. Critiques please :)

[tirediron]

Crit per req:

1. The main subject is 1/2 - 2/3 stop underexposed and focus is a little off. Remember that in macro and close up work, focus and DoF are everything, and also very difficult to control. You need to be very familiar with the DoF values for a given focal length.

Always try and get all of the petals and the stamen sharp if at all possible. As far as lighting goes, reflectors and diffusers are critical to well lit macro shots, esp. if don't have a ring light/macro flash.

Also remember your background; in this image it's soft, but focused enough to be very distracting. In #2, you've got an almost perfect macro/close-up background.


2. Really nice composition, and good exposures, but completely soft all over, and at least one stop over-exposed.

[baddness]

Thanks for the reply. I took these pics in auto. I just couldn't seem to get it right in M or AV. I will keep trying. Thanks for the info :)

[Marko]

These are hard to do well and tireiron makes some excellent points!

Shot 2 is really lovely - and the softness in this case doesn't even bother me that much. But it is way overexposed as mentioned.

[baddness]

I'm still practicing on shutter speed, aperature, exposure etc. So I decided to take these in auto. Still too comfortable with auto but I can see a big difference between auto and manual. Much better in manual, just gotta get everything else down.
Thanks for the reply :)

[Travis]

Some tips for flowers -

1. Experiment using "center weighted" metering instead of "Matrix" metering.

2. Lose the "Auto" shots. If anything, shoot in P mode to allow you to decide if flash is necessary, ISO settings and Exposure Compensation.

3. Be aware of autofocus when using shallow DOF's. The standard autofocus setting is employed to focus on the closest subject. If you have one peddle that protrudes it will focus on that leaving the rest of the flower out of focus on shallow dof. Adjust the autofocus so that you can control the focal point with the paddle. Generally speaking, you want to lead viewers to the inside of the flower so aim for the centre, core. This of course is generally speaking, you as the artist have control of want you want people to look at.

4. Experiment in Aperture Priority using the widest available aperture (i.e. f2.8, f4) to isolate your subject and blur the background. Then experiment the same shot in F9 and observe the difference.

5. Experiment with using your flash and observe differences

6. Make sure to move twigs, leafs, or anything else that will intrude upon the subject. You may not notice a little leaf or something when you take the shot... then you get it home and it sticks out like a sore thumb

Have fun!!

[baddness]

Some tips for flowers -

1. Experiment using "center weighted" metering instead of "Matrix" metering.

2. Lose the "Auto" shots. If anything, shoot in P mode to allow you to decide if flash is necessary, ISO settings and Exposure Compensation.

3. Be aware of autofocus when using shallow DOF's. The standard autofocus setting is employed to focus on the closest subject. If you have one peddle that protrudes it will focus on that leaving the rest of the flower out of focus on shallow dof. Adjust the autofocus so that you can control the focal point with the paddle. Generally speaking, you want to lead viewers to the inside of the flower so aim for the centre, core. This of course is generally speaking, you as the artist have control of want you want people to look at.

4. Experiment in Aperture Priority using the widest available aperture (i.e. f2.8, f4) to isolate your subject and blur the background. Then experiment the same shot in F9 and observe the difference.

5. Experiment with using your flash and observe differences

6. Make sure to move twigs, leafs, or anything else that will intrude upon the subject. You may not notice a little leaf or something when you take the shot... then you get it home and it sticks out like a sore thumb

Have fun!!

Next bright sunny day we have I will get out there and practice. This is my first attempt with flowers other than film.

Thanks :)
Learning lots but lots to retain. Wished my brain wasn't like a sieve lol

[Marko]

Excellent points Travis!

I'd like to add my 2 cents on 1 point in particular and that 1 point does slightly differ from Travis's point #2 ....this may be harsh and sweeping (and I'm not fond of sweeping statements ;)) but anyway... NEVER shoot in P mode. (On my Canon the P mode is 100% automatic - I am assuming that's what we are talking about here)

It's a waste of money to by an SLR and shoot in P mode...as you learn basically nothing from that mode. The camera makes all the decisions and the camera has NO idea what it is looking at, only you do.

I only use 3 modes 99.9% of the time. Aperture priority, manual, and shutter priority. I as the photographer TELL my camera how to shoot the scene. I never let my camera guess the scene. At the end of the day your main decisions will be lighting, aperture choice and shutter speed choice. Don't let your camera's smaller 'brain' decide the shot for you if you want to learn.

Hope that helps,

marko

[Travis]

Excellent points Travis!

I'd like to add my 2 cents on 1 point in particular and that 1 point does slightly differ from Travis's point #2 ....this may be harsh and sweeping (and I'm not fond of sweeping statements ;)) but anyway... NEVER shoot in P mode. (On my Canon the P mode is 100% automatic - I am assuming that's what we are talking about here)

It's a waste of money to by an SLR and shoot in P mode...as you learn basically nothing from that mode. The camera makes all the decisions and the camera has NO idea what it is looking at, only you do.

I only use 3 modes 99.9% of the time. Aperture priority, manual, and shutter priority. I as the photographer TELL my camera how to shoot the scene. I never let my camera guess the scene. At the end of the day your main decisions will be lighting, aperture choice and shutter speed choice. Don't let your camera's smaller 'brain' decide the shot for you if you want to learn.

Hope that helps,

marko

Yes I agree... but think I there might be discrepency...

For Nikon -

Auto = Auto.. meaning the user is not able to control any aspect of the image

P (program) Allows users to adjust flash, white balance, exp comp, ISO settings, autofocus servo's, and metering options.... for nikon program mode will select your aperture/shutter settings... but if you don't like the suggestion you can spin the wheel to get other aperture/shutter speeds that will make a correct exposure. The OP advised using full auto so I was merely suggesting P mode in lieu of that.

FYIY - When I turn my camera off I park it in P mode in case I need to fire off a quick shot.... sometimes for informal family gatherings and the like P mode is good too.... obviously ... I don't use P mode for serious work but it's still a handy and useful mode....