Still life Photography Photo Critique
Gebera daisies in vase.
by Lucy Beck
Views: 2217
Category: Still life Photography
Nikon D300
Lens: Zoom: Variable focal
Exposure time: 1/200 ,
ISO: 200
Flash: None
Tripod: Yes
Description: f7.1 I Greatly appreciate your comments. Thank you! In this picture I wanted to exp see all >
f7.1 I Greatly appreciate your comments. Thank you! In this picture I wanted to experiment with the illusion of shooting in black and white, but with a major pop of color. I had a white sheet, with light coming primarily from a skylight.
Photo Critique Summary
Subject of photo
9
Composition & Perspective
8
Focus
7
Use of camera, exposure & speed
7
Color & Lighting
8
Depth of field
7
General impression
8
Overall Rating
7.7
GuruShots Pro
Subject of photo:
9
Great subject, very nicely photographed and I think you have nicely achieved the look you set out to get.
So much better than those awful selective colour photoshop lashups I often see where people have desaturated everything except the flowers!
Composition & Perspective:
8
See notes below, but overall I think the angle of view and composition really work well on your photo.
Focus:
7
The focus is spot on on that top gerbera-which is what immediately draws my eye.
Use of camera, exposure & speed:
7
I think the focal length on the zoom for this photo is spot on but the exposure and speed could have been better used,(see notes below).
I'd have preferred a little less detail in the blanket, especially at the top of the frame.
Color & Lighting:
8
Excellent use of colour and those flower heads really pop out at you. The lighting is good too.
Depth of field:
7
I like the way that rear gerbera is not so pin sharp that it detracts from the others. I think the one at front left could have been a bit sharper if the aperture was a bit smaller though.
General impression:
8
A lovely image which I'd be pleased to grace my wall with. The bright colour against the muted background and the use of a simple vase has very much added to the appeal.
How to improve your photo
1.
I'm not keen on the way the light comes to a point on the blanket in the background-it's too distracting for me.
I'd crop that off and make the composition more square. This would also get rid of the distracting crease at top left.
Probably leave a little more space at the base of the photo too!
2.
I'd probably have stopped the lens down more-underexposing the flower heads if necessary. The highlights look a little burned out on this image. Then use photoshop to lighten the flower heads more, but keeping the highlights a little less overpowering.
Or you could go the other way and make the whole thing much more high key by using reflectors to really lighten up the background.
3.
I can see the aperture you used, but not the shutter speed. Glad to see you used a tripod,(!!), so you could have dropped the shutter speed right down and used a smaller aperture to bring that front flower into sharper focus. It's always a job for me to comment on focus when I can't do a 100% zoom, but that front gerbera looks a touch muzzy at the top. It's no biggie though because the eye goes straight to the other flowers!
4.
If you like the point of light on the background and don't agree with my suggestion of cropping, try lightening the background in photoshop and I'm afraid I'd be reaching for the spot healing brush in CS5 to get rid of that crease in the blanket at top left!
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