Please critique my flower shot !

[samuelt]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4455023540_0d41c65873_b.jpg

let me know what you think. I dont know anything about composition so, any tips are welcomed!!

[JoYork]

What processing have you done to this image? Can you post a before shot to compare the two? The flower looks a little flat... it looks like it was perhaps overexposed slightly and you've tried to pull the exposure back in post processing and lost some of the detail on the petals.

Composition-wise I think it would have been better if you could have zoomed in/gone closer to the flower so the distracting leaf in the top right wasn't visible.

[samuelt]

What processing have you done to this image? Can you post a before shot to compare the two? The flower looks a little flat... it looks like it was perhaps overexposed slightly and you've tried to pull the exposure back in post processing and lost some of the detail on the petals.

Composition-wise I think it would have been better if you could have zoomed in/gone closer to the flower so the distracting leaf in the top right wasn't visible.I messed with the raw a bit, ill try to put the raw up.

[JoYork]

You might have overdone the "recovery" facility - try tweaking the exposure slider first.

If the petals did blow out and you can't recover any more detail then there's not much you can do really... except take another photo and watch out for the dreaded "blinkies" on the display.

The time of day can make a difference too - midday sun is very bright and harsh, you may have better results earlier or later in the day.

[JoYork]

Your camera supports spot metering I think - try metering off the flower and make sure the exposure needle doesn't blink.

[samuelt]

I accidently over-wrote the original file but all i did was mess with the RAW.

I have spot metering, evaluation, center weighted and another one.. I really don't have a clue what they do.

this was at f/9 iso400 and 1/1250 around 530pm in the daytime. @ 250mm .

thansk for the suggestions.

[joedlh]

The whites look blown out. My biggest complaint is that you have a lot of wasted space that doesn't contribute to the image. I would crop tight on the flower.

As to the recommendation to use a spot meter on the flower, this could result in gray flowers, as the meter will try to make it 18% gray. Evaluative metering uses a Canon algorithm to get the exposure. Center-weighted is a hold-over from the old days. The center provides the highest input to the meter and it peters out as you go to the periphery. I usually use evaluative. However, in this situation, I would take more time, perhaps even use manual exposure. After all, the flowers aren't going anywhere. Take a shot, check the histogram. If you have a peak all the way on the right, dial down the exposure by increasing the shutter speed or closing down the aperture.

[samuelt]

heres is a crop of same flower in a better photo.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4455023778_e6920a0c53_b.jpg