Shallow DOF orchid

[chauncey]

Lesson learned...working to get this technically correct, I lost track of what it would look like!
Shot from the top, minimal stacking/lot of merging to 60"...no object d'art here.

[Shadowman]

A bit too much DOF for me. I think it's the large areas where detail is lost that makes it unappealing.

[Ziggy]

I guess that was my question. Why so shallow?

Would love to see this one with the front in focus in front of that very nice BG.

[Manfred M]

Having key parts of the foreground out of focus rarely works, and this shot clearly shows why this is so.

The folks that focus stack flower shots are definitely onto something.

[DanK]

I agree with Manfred--having the foreground out of focus usually doesn't work. Having the background often helps. One option is to shoot a stack that goes completely from front to back and then decide afterwards how far back to use in the composite.