Hibiscus

[Round Tuit]

I took this photo last Wednesday afternoon. Did minimal PP yesterday. C & C welcomed.



Andre

[Geoff F]

Basically OK, Andre, but looking at it with a totally critical eye; you have patches of shadow across the petals and the background is a problem with over bright and 'spotty' areas.

I always try to avoid flower photography in bright sunshine; or as an alternative, when there is no other option, I meter for the brightest area then use flash to lighten the shadows.

Flower photography is a very difficult subject to get perfect results.

[Round Tuit]

Basically OK, Andre, but looking at it with a totally critical eye; you have patches of shadow across the petals and the background is a problem with over bright and 'spotty' areas.

I always try to avoid flower photography in bright sunshine; or as an alternative, when there is no other option, I meter for the brightest area then use flash to lighten the shadows.

Flower photography is a very difficult subject to get perfect results.

Thank you Geoff,

This was an attempt (not very successful) to photograph a bloom lit from back. Because of its position, mid afternoon was my only option. I tried to minimize the reflections on the leaves by using a circular polarizing filter. I don't like the shadows on the petals either but they are actually shadows from the leaves that we are seeing through the petals. Pruning was definitely NOT an option!
Flower photography is indeed difficult but I hope, with the help the good folks on this forum, to get it right one day.

Andre

[GBO25]

Even so Andre reducing the highlights and some midtone adjustments would lift this shot quite a bit I think.

[jcuknz]

My solution to the problem when I was flower hunting awhile back was to use a simple diffusion screen of muslim stretched and sewn to the wire circle which came from a bycycle tyre. It would fold and twist on itself to make a smallish size to fit in my camera bag which bigger than those simply designed to hold a camera... I think it was designed for a laptop, certainly my wife used it for that purpose when we visited the States.
Really a bit of a mess as a flower shot but it shows the effect of the hand held screen in bright sunlight ...

[Shadowman]

The highlights are a bit hot but flower very sharp, could use a bit of work on the stamen to make it appear 3-dimensional or at least show some relief from the petals. Nice effort.

[DougR]

There are 5 in 1 reflectors which with the gold, silver, white, and black also have a translucent diffuser which would provide the results shown above. They come in all sizes and prices(I was just looking at one for $16.00).

[Geoff F]

I use the Lastolite Trigrip Difflector which folds up to fit in a handy 12 ins diameter carrying pouch. But sometimes it can be a bit of a struggle to hold while making manual adjustments like focusing etc; unless you have an assistant.

I do have a large paper clip type of holder which I have adapted to hold this difflector on a second tripod. However that is more gear to carry around. There is a form of flexible tube and clips which will attach to your shooting tripod but I have never used it and I can see some drawbacks in strong winds.

A simple alternative which can prove effective, if the light is from the correct direction, is to just place your body in a way which produces some shadow.

[Round Tuit]

Even so Andre reducing the highlights and some midtone adjustments would lift this shot quite a bit I think.

Is this what you had in mind?



Andre

[Round Tuit]

The highlights are a bit hot but flower very sharp, could use a bit of work on the stamen to make it appear 3-dimensional or at least show some relief from the petals. Nice effort.

How would you do that?

Andre

[Round Tuit]

Geoff, Doug and John(jcuknz),

Thanks for your suggestions. I will look into difflectors.

Andre

[GBO25]

Is this what you had in mind?



Andre

Yes Andre, that's pretty well what I had in mind. Maybe mask out the left shadow and the shadow below the stamen because even the subdued highlights in those lighter shadows have been reduced but they don't really need it.