More Flowers

[TobyMac]

After posting about a single flower that I shot last month I went out and found a couple more to shoot. I really enjoyed this project and am quite happy with what I got. All of these were shot in studio so I could shoot at f/16 or higher. The first is my personal favourite.
C&C welcome.

3 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

8 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

8 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

6 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

4 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

[chauncey]

Tobias, those are very all very good shots but, nothing makes them stand apart from other good flower shots. Try getting closer and filling the frame with the flower.

[deetheturk]

Great images Tobias,the colours are beautiful.

[Downrigger]

Admirable management of light, color, texture, and focus. The yellow rose is my favorite: it glows. Chauncey makes a good point - some of the flower images I have found most interesting are those that take the viewer into the blossom. You have the skills and set-up to do that well.

[TobyMac]

Thanks guys, I know they aren't anything special but to me they are special. I will try the really close macro shots though, that is my next "mission"

[DanK]

Tobias,

Very nice shots.

I agree with Chauncey, but I would put it in more general terms. Scott Kelby (whom I don't generally quote) said that one key to flower photography is to get a perspective that is different from the everyday experience of looking at flowers. Getting closer, as Chauncey suggests, is one way to do that.

My other suggestion is purely one of taste. For my taste, some of these images are overprocessed. It's not entirely clear to me what the processing was, but I am guessing a lot of saturation boost and sharpening. However, that is just a matter of taste. You may be trying for precisely that effect.

Dan

[Geoff F]

All looking good to me; although the lack of a clear stem for #1 does make it appear to be 'floating in space'.

Personally, I tend to regard flowers, or insectlife, shots as being portraits so I work with the same 'rules' that I would use for people portraits as opposed to 'landscape rules'. But that is just the way I see things.

[Shadowman]

Nice series, very dramatic lighting.

[redrew]

Stunning flower photography Tobias, particularly the lighting. Could you enlighten us as to whether this is digital or scanned film; camera, lens?

[FrankMi]

Sharp and clear, and against the blackground, they all look stunning Tobias.

[Stagecoach]

Tobias,

You have some great specimens here but I have to agree with what Dan has said, they do appear over-processed although it may be that it was your intention to produce this look.

I too have read some advice from Scott Kelby as well as others regarding shooting flowers and there seems to be two main areas to consider, producing something different from the norm and having an idea of the final use for the image.

Grahame

[bnnrcn]

I actually like the saturation in the images , but this is just to my taste. I like the images very much Tobias

[MichaelClark]

Beautiful pictures .. If you’re interested in close-up flower photography then you should invest in a macro lens. Using a macro lens enables you to focus up close so you can really fill the frame with your subject. A true macro lens produces an image recorded on the sensor at life-size or larger. Great care has to be taken when focusing macro lenses as depth of field is very limited when you’re so close to your subject.

[TobyMac]

Thank you for the comments.

I might have over sharpened them just a tad in photoshop but overall I am quite happy with them. The saturation I did not play with at all.

@Geoff the flower unfortunately broke off right at the base of the flower so I used a stick to prop it up and it looked terrible so I decided to edit it out, maybe I'll try editing in another stem and see how that looks.

@Rollin, These were all shot with a canon 7d and a 24-105L lens. One speedlite through an umbrella and some reflectors to bring out some of the shadows.

[TobyMac]

I also decided to try and see what I could come up with by going in closer. I used the same set up but threw in some extension tubes to get really nice and close.

3 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

2 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

1 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

[Mike Buckley]

I admire the consistent look of the first set. That consistency tells me that you knew the exact look that you wanted and made it happen. Well done!

The artsy, more imaginative look of the second set is inevitably going to result in a bit less consistency, so you might need to be more rigorous in your culling. Regardless, I admire your desire to stretch beyond your comfort zone into other styles. Keep it up!

Another approach to consider trying is to give the viewers the impression that we're looking more toward the inside of the flower rather than viewing it from the side. Also try back lighting, as the translucent characteristic of petals is a great fit with back lighting.

[chauncey]

First off, what's your PP software as you may want to consider stacking your images for greater DOF.
Regarding composition...work that flower, explore different angles using live view or tethered shooting.
Your last three are great but, maybe a little more flower would be better.

PS...Mike"s backlighting suggestion is a good idea!

[TobyMac]

Thanks guys, I will try all that next time I shoot.

I use Photoshop and have been wanting to try focus stacking for a while but have never actually done it so I will give it a try as well next time.

[Kaye Leggett]

Been following the comments on this thread with interest as i too love shooting flowers. In the first set they all work for me except the third where for some reason I don't like the black background - the flower itself is not strong enough in colour for me to support the background. However, in your second set, the black background works really well - is it the same flower just processed/lit differently ? in the second set I particularly like the first image - could you clone out the bit of leaf ?

[bnnrcn]

Your second set is very nice too Tobias My best is the first one and I agree with Kaye about cloning out the leaf. I like the soft pink colour with black bacground very much.