my first picture post and...

no one responded after almost two-hundred people have peeped it. i'm not sure if that's a hint that nobody liked the processing or if it was too much for the area i posted it, but that's why i am now here.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=536182

that's the original thread.

C&C is what i'm looking for. it's my first stab at flora and i was creative with the processing but limited my processing only to LR so no practically no sharpening.

i hope this isn't considered SPAM. i'm just looking for comments and critique on my first attempts outside the field of macro and 'true' macro and definitely did not get that from the Nature & Animals area. i've attached two resizes that don't do the full sized shots any justice whatsoever, but give you some idea.

is the processing too much to look at the shots objectively?

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For me personally, I'm just kind of jaded to flowers. I think the shots are technically fine, but they're just flowers (and in the case of the flowers on the left, dying). The picture doesn't move me because the subject doesn't move me, not because you didn't do a good job.

The flowers on the left look like that.Rudbeckia has a droop to the petals..
The colors in the first are just too much for the photo( just my opinion)..
The second photo is a nice one, but now instead of having that pop of color, it has a desaturated look.

Flo wrote in post #5910357
The flowers on the left look like that.Rudbeckia has a droop to the petals..

Well, don't I feel smart.

griptape wrote in post #5910405
Well, don't I feel smart.

Lol.they are a droopy thing.but beautiful ..:p Its the cone that sticks out so the bees don't need a map

I think the composition in both images is too centered. In the second shot it's a bit heavy on the top right for me with all of that dead space lower left.

As for processing that's a matter of personal taste, and these just don't get me excited.

Lack of comments? It happens to us all. Even here in the forum where you're specifically asking for them

Don't take the lack of response badly. All it means is that your images are technically correct so there's not a lot of basic advice people can offer there (although if I'm being picky you did manage to clip the red channel quite a bit in both images, likely during post processing). Now it's all just a matter of taste...

One more comment: In the second shot watch for tonal mergers between your subject and the background. You're losing a fair amount of definition in your subject because of it.

griptape wrote in post #5910138
For me personally, I'm just kind of jaded to flowers. I think the shots are technically fine, but they're just flowers (and in the case of the flowers on the left, dying). The picture doesn't move me because the subject doesn't move me, not because you didn't do a good job.

i understand entirely. the subject matter of flora (at least when not in the 1:1 to 5:1 magnif range) is entirely new to me. for reasons similar to your honest lack of interest, but i was compelled by the moment.

thanks for the critique.

Flo wrote in post #5910357
The flowers on the left look like that.Rudbeckia has a droop to the petals..
The colors in the first are just too much for the photo( just my opinion)..
The second photo is a nice one, but now instead of having that pop of color, it has a desaturated look.

both pictures are Rudbeckia, actually.

i agree with the amount of color on the first shot; i was doing a bit of cross processing, honestly. i think the busy bokeh with the inclusion of the additional colors only brought MORE attention to the business of the background and took away from the subject.

the full size shot just turned out so nice that i couldn't help but be proud of the quality that came from the processing, but this is probably not the best shot for it.

as for the second shot, i wish i had a program that utilized layers. right now i am without photoshop so i'm stuck with not being able to tweak sharpening the way i'd like and do it selectively.

thanks for your opinion!

LeuceDeuce wrote in post #5910707
I think the composition in both images is too centered. In the second shot it's a bit heavy on the top right for me with all of that dead space lower left.

As for processing that's a matter of personal taste, and these just don't get me excited.

Lack of comments? It happens to us all. Even here in the forum where you're specifically asking for them

Don't take the lack of response badly. All it means is that your images are technically correct so there's not a lot of basic advice people can offer there (although if I'm being picky you did manage to clip the red channel quite a bit in both images, likely during post processing). Now it's all just a matter of taste...

i'll admit, i am not a fan of the composition for the second shot. what did inspire me to try and "save" this shot was the separation between the centered flower and it's background. however, i think i lost a little bit of that in processing. oh, and you're absolutely right that i clipped the red channel quite a bit. i was doing some split toning.

LeuceDeuce wrote in post #5910740
One more comment: In the second shot watch for tonal mergers between your subject and the background. You're losing a fair amount of definition in your subject because of it.

boy, do i know it! can't really practice my processing any other way though until i get photoshop as i do not have program that uses layers for editing.

i have my paper in graphic design and moved from there to photography so i'm a bit backwards in what i need to learn.

i just wish i had the software to do what i'd like but since the big PC to MAC conversion...things have been slow without photoshop (user for more than a decade; lover since the great 6.0 update).

thanks for the critique. i seriously love this forum.

would anyone like to see the more conservative processes for each of these shots?

Oh my god, a world without layers. I can't even imagine. It's kind of sad that I'm serious given the fact that I do remember a world before photoshop in any form. The layout is a little clunky, but Gimp has a Mac version (and does layers). And it's free.

http://www.gimp.org/ma​cintosh/

I like the colors in the first one but I don't like the picture because I don't really like flowers. But somehow I like the second picture.

griptape wrote in post #5913868
Oh my god, a world without layers. I can't even imagine. It's kind of sad that I'm serious given the fact that I do remember a world before photoshop in any form. The layout is a little clunky, but Gimp has a Mac version (and does layers). And it's free.

http://www.gimp.org/ma​cintosh/

yeah, i absolutely hate their interface though. thanks for the thought.

i hope i get a copy of PS soon.