2 Pics of flowers. Nice colours.

[Sgouz]

Hi there.
Here are a few pics I took today, I like them but am still very new to photography and would like some feedback to make future shots better.
Thanks
-Steve

http://members.rogers.com/infocus/flower.jpg
http://members.rogers.com/infocus/flower2.jpg

[arogop]

The pictures actual seem very nice. One thing you might try is with the second one to narrow the depth of field. The effect of that would be to make the background more out of focus so you do not draw attention away from the flower.

[sGu]

composition wise, first one needs more work, the leaf on top and 1/4 of another flower at the bottom don't really help here, instead it distracts viewer's focus point.

second one is much better at framing, however, i agree with arogop, less DOF would blur the background, throw all the messy elements out of focus, so viewer can focus on the flower itself.

[Sgouz]

What settings would I change to adjust the DOF?

[sGu]

aperture, you need to wide open aperture, so the smaller the number, the wider aperture would be, hence more background blur, also known as bokeh.

http://gu.smugmug.com/photos/6165991-L.jpg

this is what i took trying to throw background out of focus, so as less distraction as possible. I know there are not the most glamourous flowers out there, neither is the shot, just to give you an idea what it would look like.

[Sgouz]

thanks for the advice, can't wait to give it a try.