Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: Backlit Delphinium

  1. #1
    Round Tuit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,313
    Real Name
    André

    Backlit Delphinium

    This picture is a stack of 7 shots taken in my garden. It is the first time that I have attempted a stack outside. The slight breeze made it quite a challenge.
    Backlit Delphinium

  2. #2
    Wavelength's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Kerala, India
    Posts
    13,862
    Real Name
    Nandakumar

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    Lovely; did you use a black backdrop? What is the real size of these flowers?
    Why, it looks like sidelit only

  3. #3
    Round Tuit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,313
    Real Name
    André

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    Quote Originally Posted by Wavelength View Post
    Lovely; did you use a black backdrop? What is the real size of these flowers?
    Why, it looks like sidelit only
    Thank you Nandakumar,
    No, I did not use a black backdrop. It was added in post processing. The pictures were taken in my garden with the sun being directly in line and slightly above the flowers. All the light that you see is coming through the petals. Each flower is approximately 4.5 cm wide.
    Here is the raw result of the stacking process:
    Backlit Delphinium

  4. #4
    Wavelength's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Kerala, India
    Posts
    13,862
    Real Name
    Nandakumar

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    OK, Thank you Andre; now i see the backlit effect; after seeing this and going back to the other, i can feel the backlit effect there too

  5. #5
    DanK's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    8,823
    Real Name
    Dan

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    Very nicely done. I know from personal experience how hard it is to do stacks outdoors. I rarely succeed.

    I do have one suggestion: to dodge the area around the central white petals a bit. Even though the photo is backlit, this area seems distractingly dark to me.

  6. #6
    Moderator Manfred M's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    22,158
    Real Name
    Manfred Mueller

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    You've done a nice job of stacking here in very challenging conditions.

    The one problem I have with your image is the black background. Having seen the original image, I understand that you would want a simpler background that does not distract, but a backlit scene with a black background does not quite work for my simple brain.

  7. #7
    Wavelength's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Kerala, India
    Posts
    13,862
    Real Name
    Nandakumar

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    Quote Originally Posted by Manfred M View Post
    You've done a nice job of stacking here in very challenging conditions.

    .... a backlit scene with a black background .......
    That must be the reason i felt it is not backlit....

  8. #8
    Round Tuit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,313
    Real Name
    André

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    Quote Originally Posted by DanK View Post
    Very nicely done. I know from personal experience how hard it is to do stacks outdoors. I rarely succeed.

    I do have one suggestion: to dodge the area around the central white petals a bit. Even though the photo is backlit, this area seems distractingly dark to me.
    Thanks Dan,
    I will re-evaluate my dodging and burning and see if I can come up with an improved version.

  9. #9
    Round Tuit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,313
    Real Name
    André

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    Quote Originally Posted by Manfred M View Post
    You've done a nice job of stacking here in very challenging conditions.

    The one problem I have with your image is the black background. Having seen the original image, I understand that you would want a simpler background that does not distract, but a backlit scene with a black background does not quite work for my simple brain.
    Thanks Manfred,
    A light breeze that blew the flowers on their 18 in long stem and a variable sky that kept changing the light were the biggest challenges. Patience was the solution.
    As for the black background where the light is coming from, there is no accounting for taste and I generally switch off my engineer's brain and go for what appeals to me. That, of course, does not mean that I don't value divergent opinions.

  10. #10
    Moderator Manfred M's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    22,158
    Real Name
    Manfred Mueller

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    Quote Originally Posted by Round Tuit View Post
    As for the black background where the light is coming from, there is no accounting for taste and I generally switch off my engineer's brain and go for what appeals to me. That, of course, does not mean that I don't value divergent opinions.
    In that case you're lucky. My engineer's brain never switches off completely when working images, but I understand where you are coming from.

    Part of the reason is that when we "fake" something, it has to look plausible to the viewer. If it is not, then the viewer will usually sense there is something not quite right with the image and that will bother them. Often I find it harder to do something that looks right when doing a major edit than getting the capture in the camera.

  11. #11
    Round Tuit's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    1,313
    Real Name
    André

    Re: Backlit Delphinium

    Quote Originally Posted by Manfred M View Post
    ...Part of the reason is that when we "fake" something, it has to look plausible to the viewer. If it is not, then the viewer will usually sense there is something not quite right with the image and that will bother them.
    I agree with that statement which is the reason that I could not make a realistic composite if my life depended on it. However, I have successfully shot several backlit flowers against an actual dark background in the past. So I must conclude that backlighting and dark background are not incompatible. I suspect that the "not quite right" feeling that I have toward this picture is somehow related to my post processing which mostly involved dodging and contrast adjustments.
    As i mentioned to Dan, I will re-evaluate my post processing to see if I can find what went wrong.

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •