A backlit beauty?

[JBW]

Lets see... Dave's checklist:

(1) all appropriate cloning done
(2) rule of thirds, fifths, diagonals and golden sections applied
(3) background looking good.
(4) ?

[JohnRostron]

Brian, You always seem to produce images that make me think. Is this underexposed, or is it atmospheric? At present, I am inclined to the latter, but I'm still not sure. Perhaps it is both.

John

[JBW]

Brian, You always seem to produce images that make me think. Is this underexposed, or is it atmospheric? At present, I am inclined to the latter, but I'm still not sure. Perhaps it is both.

John

A little bit of both plus some creative pp to bring out the textures.

I just happen to like dark images.
Brian

[Ndukes]

Simply perfect.

[Manfred M]

John - I like the moody, dark images as well, BUT I also like them to be properly exposed.

This means that:

1. Highlights are not blown out. You have accomplished this.

2. The whites in the image are white, not gray (white point set correctly). You have missed on this point.

3. The blacks in the image are black. You have accomplished this.

4. Black point set correctly. This means shadow detail is not lost. You have definitely lost shadow detail.





Close, but not quite there yet, I think, based on what I see in the histogram.

A few small changes in the way you process the image and you should nail it. Like I said, I like dark and moody images too, but avoiding having them look muddy should be a goal too.

[JBW]

John - I like the moody, dark images as well, BUT I also like them to be properly exposed.

This means that:

1. Highlights are not blown out. You have accomplished this.

2. The whites in the image are white, not gray (white point set correctly). You have missed on this point.

3. The blacks in the image are black. You have accomplished this.

4. Black point set correctly. This means shadow detail is not lost. You have definitely lost shadow detail.





Close, but not quite there yet, I think, based on what I see in the histogram.

A few small changes in the way you process the image and you should nail it. Like I said, I like dark and moody images too, but avoiding having them look muddy should be a goal too.

Well closer is better. One of my problems is that my camera's histogram and the histogram in Sony Express are not the same. In camera i get a nicely balanced histogram but in Sony Express it turns into seriously underexposed.

Problem two is that because it is underexposed if i move my black point very much I get blown(sic) shadows. (little blue specks all over the place)

I'm working on muddy.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Brian,

In addition to Manfred's thoughts, there are a few others.

(1) all appropriate cloning done
(2) rule of thirds, fifths, diagonals and golden sections applied
(3) background looking good.
(4) ?

I do like the composition (2) and the background is mostly good (3, 1) - there are a few areas where (I guess), some 'dark' has been cloned over something distracting and the edge of the cloned area is somewhat sharper than everything else in the background.

In particular, note the lower edge of the triangular shaped (nicely subdued) patch towards the lower left corner.
If I find myself in this situation, I run a blur brush over the appropriate edges of the cloning to make them match the background (often I need to change the radius of the blur brush to suit the image content; e.g. you might need a radius of 20-30px, perhaps more).

4a) Given the moody presentation of the subject, I find a couple of the bevel border edges rather bright.
4b) I think there are some sharpening artefacts apparent

I do hope you find the above helpful, Dave

[JBW]

Hi Brian,

In addition to Manfred's thoughts, there are a few others.



I do like the composition (2) and the background is mostly good (3, 1) - there are a few areas where (I guess), some 'dark' has been cloned over something distracting and the edge of the cloned area is somewhat sharper than everything else in the background.

In particular, note the lower edge of the triangular shaped (nicely subdued) patch towards the lower left corner.
If I find myself in this situation, I run a blur brush over the appropriate edges of the cloning to make them match the background (often I need to change the radius of the blur brush to suit the image content; e.g. you might need a radius of 20-30px, perhaps more).

4a) Given the moody presentation of the subject, I find a couple of the bevel border edges rather bright.
4b) I think there are some sharpening artefacts apparent

I do hope you find the above helpful, Dave

yes I do. The frame could be darker.
the sharper edges i hadn't noticed.
never crossed my mind to blur the edges of the cloning. I'll give it a try.

[Rider in the Sky]

Hi John,

It's a very pleasant image to view.

[chauncey]

One of my problems is that my camera's histogram and the histogram in Sony Express are not the same.

It could be what I discovered with my Canon...the LCD image is a jpeg representation of your image
which is influenced by your "in camera" picture style settings. I fixed it by neutralizing those settings.

Try flipping the image horizontally for, perhaps, better eye travel.

[JBW]

Hi John,

It's a very pleasant image to view.

Thank-you. But why are people calling me John?

[JBW]

It could be what I discovered with my Canon...the LCD image is a jpeg representation of your image
which is influenced by your "in camera" picture style settings. I fixed it by neutralizing those settings.

Try flipping the image horizontally for, perhaps, better eye travel.

I will look into neutralizing and I did flip it multiple times. The last flip was almost a coin toss.

[NorthernFocus]

Getting better all the time, Brian. Nicely composed image and I'm a fan of shadowy/dark BG to isolate flowers. Not sure about your title as the bloom isn't really backlit.

[JBW]

Getting better all the time, Brian. Nicely composed image and I'm a fan of shadowy/dark BG to isolate flowers. Not sure about your title as the bloom isn't really backlit.

Hmmm, how about 'side lit'? You can see the outline of the flowers interior.

[NorthernFocus]

Hmmm, how about 'side lit'?...

Roger that.

[DanK]

One of my problems is that my camera's histogram and the histogram in Sony Express are not the same. In camera i get a nicely balanced histogram but in Sony Express it turns into seriously underexposed.

The lcd histogram is based on the camera's jpeg conversion. I don't know about Sony cameras, but on Canons, you can make the histogram more accurate by selecting a very neutral picture style that doesn't boost contrast, saturation, etc. If you are shooting raw, so the picture style doesn't actually affect the file you will work with, you might want to see whether a different picture style gets you a more accurate histogram.

[Loose Canon]

Okay John.

Who the hell are you really and what have you done with Brian.

And don't try to weasel your way out of this either. I've been watching zombie stuff on tv lately and I am hip to your act.

[JBW]

Okay John.

Who the hell are you really and what have you done with Brian.

And don't try to weasel your way out of this either. I've been watching zombie stuff on tv lately and I am hip to your act.

He fell asleep and I took him. we are the body snatchers and we are invading