Composition and all that Arty stuff - discussion thread.

yes I do like this horizontal shot better than the more square one. If you are trying to show height (tree) would a horizontal be more effective at communicating that? And I might do a quick mask on the flower and bring the BG down about a stop?

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16618350
yes I do like this horizontal shot better than the more square one. If you are trying to show height (tree) would a horizontal be more effective at communicating that? And I might do a quick mask on the flower and bring the BG down about a stop?

I was trying to get a subject in its environment without showing the immediate surroundings. A tropical plant in that setting. The palm tree tells what climate and it would look different than the typical view where you could see the suburban landscape, or where the plant is placed. I like this composition better because it is easier to place the subject.

I want to go to a nature preserve soon to get something actually natural while showing it's habitat. lol!

I do not know how to do a mask, or what a BG is. :/

bugadrienne wrote in post #16618378
I was trying to get a subject in its environment without showing the immediate surroundings. A tropical plant in that setting. The palm tree tells what climate and it would look different than the typical view where you could see the suburban landscape, or where the plant is placed. I like this composition better because it is easier to place the subject.

I want to go to a nature preserve soon to get something actually natural while showing it's habitat. lol!

I do not know how to do a mask, or what a BG is. :/

We've all shot in harsh light. No worries. I am hoping you are finding utility in the dialog.

What's important in framing subject to background is to look for merges where one or the other get lost in each other or merge. The case here is the orchid bud and the evergreen in center bottom which both have competing mass in low values. Another trick is to open the exposure and capture the shadows at a higher tonal value in a separate capture, merge the two identical frames in CS, and then adjust the contrast accordingly.

A mask is something you can use in Photoshop (these days) to apply changes to a certain area of the image only - similar to masking around areas that you don't want to paint using tape. This enables you to make the BackGround (BG) darker whilst leaving your subject as it is - resulting in a relatively brighter subject without brightening the image, and a relatively darker image without darkening the subject.

EDIT: Ahh, sorry, you didn't say you didn't know what a mask was, so I haven't really helped you ... I'm not the best instructor on how to do them myself, I'm afraid. If you have Lightroom, the adjustment brushes are pretty similar and really intuitive - I only played with them for the first time recently and now I love them.

mtimber wrote in post #16617668
An old one from me...

Your thoughts? (before I share mine).

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …12990548@N08/12​027802675/
Hidden light (1 of 1)-Edit-Edit by mtimberlake71@btintern​et.com, on Flickr

There is enough variation, tonal separation, and direction here to make this image interesting. My only comment is the clipping of the flower petal at the bottom breaks the floating effect we see in the rest of the subject. On the other hand that single point of contact grounds the subject to the frame.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16618096
Saw the light on this one late spring day last year while walking past it and went home and grabbed the camera and went back. I think I have posted this here before sorry. Just thought I 'd put it up again.

Awesome visual contrast here. The subject placement in relation to the shape of the flower seems ever so slightly mechanical i.e. fits symmetrically in the corner. Shifting slightly in one axis solves this. I am still on the fence about the use of negative space but here the space is void so it doesn't detract from the subject but it does affect balance in the frame though perhaps subtle in effect. The frame is split in half which reinforces the mechanical placement illusion.

Owain Shaw wrote in post #16618417
A mask is something you can use in Photoshop (these days) to apply changes to a certain area of the image only - similar to masking around areas that you don't want to paint using tape. This enables you to make the BackGround (BG) darker whilst leaving your subject as it is - resulting in a relatively brighter subject without brightening the image, and a relatively darker image without darkening the subject.

EDIT: Ahh, sorry, you didn't say you didn't know what a mask was, so I haven't really helped you ... I'm not the best instructor on how to do them myself, I'm afraid. If you have Lightroom, the adjustment brushes are pretty similar and really intuitive - I only played with them for the first time recently and now I love them.

I just tried selecting the flower in Psp, and tried to make a layer. Unfortunately, I don't know what to do next, other than stay out of psp and get my exposures better the first time.

I have another photo with end of day lighting and fill flash, but the flower looks photoshopped in, even if I stopped the flash down as far as the camera would allow. lol

I am not sure about any of that. I have photoshop elements and paint shop pro photo X2 or whatever. I only use it to use the jpeg optimizer. I attempted cloning a couple times.

On that photo, I tried to clone out the supporting stick and twist tie on the stem of the flower shoot. If you look there, you can see the horrible cloning job. Lol!

I think I am beyond help with that kind of editing.

JakAHearts wrote in post #16615934
I dont hate all tilts, I just dont dig it here. To me, it distracts more than it add in this image.

Another more pressing issue is this image fits in with a collection of similar subjects which are all tilt free. It will look a little odd hanging with like grouped subjects.

Practice makes perfect with cloning, I think. The more I do, the better I get at it - but there's still plenty of room for improvement and it's something I should dedicate more time to, for certain. The right tools do help though.

Have a look for video tutorials for PSP or Elements on Layer Masking. This was just the result of a quick search, and I haven't watched it but there's bound to be something out there ...
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=qlWBN16rgXw

bug... shoiuld have been clearer. Sorry..

Qwain is right about quick mask. It's a tool in photoshop. I think other editing programs have something similar. BG=BackGround.

I use CS6. I mask a quick mast several ways. Sometime I use the magic wand tool. Sometimes I paint it in with the brush and sometimes I use both. It's a great tool. It allows you to work on very specific areas in an image.

bugadrienne wrote in post #16618460
I just tried selecting the flower in Psp, and tried to make a layer. Unfortunately, I don't know what to do next, other than stay out of psp and get my exposures better the first time.

I have another photo with end of day lighting and fill flash, but the flower looks photoshopped in, even if I stopped the flash down as far as the camera would allow. lol

I am not sure about any of that. I have photoshop elements and paint shop pro photo X2 or whatever. I only use it to use the jpeg optimizer. I attempted cloning a couple times.

On that photo, I tried to clone out the supporting stick and twist tie on the stem of the flower shoot. If you look there, you can see the horrible cloning job. Lol!

I think I am beyond help with that kind of editing.

If you go to you tube and enter "basic photoshop tutorials for beginners". There are many great tutorials which introduce topics by example. Feel free to apply them to a copy of one of your images. Treat it as an open canvas for exploration.

If this subject is close by shoot it until you gain satisfaction beyond reasonable doubt.

OhLook wrote in post #16618293
Ahh, those comments will only discourage him. Can't you say one constructive thing in your whole critique? For my part, I'll say that this pitiful shot can be salvaged. mtimber, just bump up the saturation in Lightshop. You don't want it looking like film, do you?

But seriously, folks--
I like the overall shape that the flower cluster makes and its placement within the frame. That the brightest area is internal, however, I find discomforting. A more favorable way to say this is that it creates tension. Maybe it looks unnatural? The expected place for the flower that looks whitest would be at one edge of the cluster.

I have lots of different camera's, but my favourite for personal use is a 7d with 18-200 on it.

Although I believe the best pound for pound camera canon has ever made is my 5d3, which sort of sits beside my 5d2 which I still use for studio stuff.

Then the little 650d and the fuji x10 also do some other stuff.

Then there are my 6 elinchrom bxri's ,my video lights and set of six flashes, musn't forget all the lenses including the 45mm, 90mm and 17mm TSE's I have...

But until I get a 1dx my compositions are going to lack something.

Sorry Dr F, but your comment is completely missing the point.

jetcode wrote in post #16618427
There is enough variation, tonal separation, and direction here to make this image interesting. My only comment is the clipping of the flower petal at the bottom breaks the floating effect we see in the rest of the subject. On the other hand that single point of contact grounds the subject to the frame.

Agree entirely, that was my concern with the closeness, this is an old photo way back when, but I have always liked it, although most of the value came from the editing which is very heavy on this.

On the subject of flowers, here is another one which I have printed and framed.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …12990548@N08/12​034692745/

I think its a very respectable floral Mark. Two nit picks I think there the highlights on the bud are going off the scale and I would clone out the web.

Looking for some feedback on the processing of these. There have been some wild fires around LA the past few days so I chartered a helicopter to get a few shots of the ethereal atmospheric conditions.