Macro's

I'm learning how to take Macro's. I like Bugs and Macro's. There aren't a lot of Bugs yet so I have been practicing on Flowers. I would like to get a little feedback on how they turned out. Any feedback would as always be appreciated.

I will get back to the Lanscapes and Wildlife soon :)

thanks

Lynn

Well, I am not a great macro photographer myself but if you asked me I would say this is pretty darn good!! I like how you are drawn from front to back in this image and I like the amount of blur. Very nice!

I am sure I won't be the only one to say this but I don't like your copyright placement. I generally don't put one on my images because unless you have a really good negative space to conceal it they are distracting.

The image itself I really like. It seems a little bit desaturated but it gives it a nice softness which complements the blur you gave the rear of the image. I also think that it may be just a hair underexposed but that is not a big deal.

I agree with Jim's critique about the copyright and the appearance of slight underexposure. I think lightening this up with some contrast adjustments would improve the image.

Very nice composition. I also agree with the exposure suggestions.

Great comp, but like others said, it's missing that pop.

I like it! I like macro cause there's countless possible comps and you sometimes really have to search and search to get them. I may have to get back into doing more of them this year...

Good art piece..would look printed big. I disagree about needing more contrast. The softness is what makes this image work, to me. You could lose the logo, however.
Good comp. Joe Rogers

Compositionally, it's a fantastic image. It has great line and form and sharpness. It could be slightly brighter and I think it's great that you held back on saturation. The soft, muted tones are very nice. Research I've read suggests the © and name need to be small and not a distraction. It needs to be there and lowering the opacity of the text helps. You might consider a different font that is less distracting. Nice shot!

Thanks guys

I guess for my second attempt ever at macro's it wasn't too bad :) I appreciate all the comments and factor them in my other attempts. I did try and lighten up the image but when I did, I lost detail in the white white areas. Not knowing what I'm doing mind you, this was as far as I went in increasing the brightness. I know their are ways out there to get that "Pop" but haven't learned that yet :) With everyone's help I should get closer to the "POP"

I will change or do away with the logo :)

Thanks again guys for all your insight and help. It's appreciated a bunch.

Lynn

Ditto on the nice comp and soft colors, but also on making it brighter. Nice work.

A real natural beauty, and the composition can't be beat!
However, it is slightly underexposed. Try using the histogram on your camera to review your images. The histogram is truly one of the best features available to you on your camera for judging exposure.
I used the Levels dialog in PS (Image->Adjustments->Levels) to determine that it was slightly underexposed by simply viewing the histogram. Just slide the right (white) slider to the left until it meets the first 'wall' of data. Big difference, eh?

Here's a trick I use to make my images 'pop':
Filter->Sharpen->Unsharp Mask
Amount-20
Radius-50
Threshold-0

This won't sharpen your image at all, but rather adds a 'local contrast enhancement'. Careful though...if any part of the image is on the edge of overexposure, this will push those areas right over! I try this on all of my images. Sometimes it works great, sometimes not.
Sure looks to me like you have a good eye for macro photography!

Makes me want to break out my too little used macro lens. That is a very nice comp for sure! I agee with John M's comment too!

Great image! John beat me to it, I was also going to mention the classic Thomas Knoll trick of 20/50/0 to make the image pop. Sometimes I lower the radius down if the image gets too contrasty, and this image looks good with lower contrast IMO. I'm fine with the brightness on-screen, but if you print, it may need to brighten a bit. But overall the comp is well done, I'd be proud of this one. And yes, get copyright out of there!! I'd move it down to the bottom and change it to a clear embossed one if you need it on there. But up top it interferes with the very place my eye wants to start.
Anyway, good work!

John M, John K and Paul

Appreciate the feedback and we will try the trick to "pop" it out. I will play with it and see if I can re-post it maybe to see the difference. Paul not sure what you mean by clear emboss but I will try and figure something different for next time.:)

Again appreciate the feedback--always wanting to learn

Lynn

I love flower macros and this is a very nice one. You've gotten some good comments. Keep up the great work and show more!

Hi Kalin

Thanks for taking a peek and commenting. I will throw up a few more in a day or two.

Lynn

Overall I like the image, but (there's always a "but" isn't there ) like others have stated, the copyright is distracting and it does need a little "pop". Looking forward to seeing more!

Most of the critique has already been given, so I'll just say I like this, Lynn.

Awesome composition and image. Ditto about the exposure, using a layer mask would be an easy way to increase brightness while holding back on the whites.