Variagated Tulips

[ANSORB]

For those of you who know Cambridge this was snapped while we walking home through Clare College gardens. Going home with the shopping isn't a good time for photography but I was quite pleased with how it came out. I took no special care with composition - you shoot from the hip when keeping up with the other party - but looking at it now I wonder if a different angle and perhaps fewer blooms would have been better. How would you approach it? Single tulip? if a group, what angle? Try to seperate them? (Wouldn't be easy).

For the record: 7D, 50mmMkll F18 1/640 ISO 1600 RAW. PP limited to noise reduction, blend of the green channel in to the composite for added detail, sharpened.

[Geoff F]

Yes, John, flower photos are so tricky. Most of mine get recycled faster than the flowers.

In this case I would probably have reduced all of your settings by at least half.

To me, the left hand tulip appears a bit lost. Neither part of the group nor an individual.

Groups of flowers are always difficult to achieve, particularly when they are a tight cluster without much variation in colour or contrast and white is such a taxing colour. As you said, fewer blooms and a more interesting angle.

I usually try to get a group shot plus a few shots of individuals at varying angles. But live flower shooting in the real world always gives me a headache.

[ANSORB]

Thanks Geoff. You are right about the exposure, it could do with a bit less. I didn't take as much care with it as I ought to have done but it looked OK on the camera screen. Next time I am in snapper mode I will bracket and see if that gives me a little lee way. As for the composition, well, I certainly need help in that department and your comments are welcome.

[Donald]

John

Firstly, I am not a flower photographer. So that's got to be taken into account in evaluating the usefulness of my contribution!

However, I think you are probably thinking the same thoughts yourself. This one could be thought of as being neither 'here' nor 'there'. It is, maybe, as Geoff suggests about the flower off to the left, not really one thing or the other.

I think with flowers you have to get up close and get the detail on one or two flower heads, or you come back out and get the general sense of the flowers in their location - so that we're getting more of a narrative and being told the context. I think this one maybe falls between the two stools.

[ANSORB]

I think with flowers you have to get up close and get the detail on one or two flower heads, or you come back out and get the general sense of the flowers in their location - so that we're getting more of a narrative and being told the context. I think this one maybe falls between the two stools.

Thank you Donald. Flowers are not my only problem by a long way and simple points like that are very helpful.