Arum lily?

[mmcp42]

My first attempt up for serious critique
a bit like others I've seen
but tell me what you think....

http://www.Bellaluz1502.com/Photos/Lily.jpg

[RobertP]

It looks quite soft and should have been sharpened when made smaller for the forum. It stands out well on that background and although it is very central in the frame (which is usually a bad thing) it doesn't look too bad here.

Don't know if that is a real background but it looks too even - like it was done as a photoshop cutout and plonked on a plain blue canvas. Colours are not my strong point but the white balance may be off if the flower is white.

Nothing to show you on this shot but if you tick the box to allow editing in your user profile people can edit your shots and post their version back in the thread.

[Cedarapple]

I like it. It is a nice simple image which shows off the flower well. I might considering clonong out the bits of pollen that have fallen on the petals though.

[mmcp42]

RobertP:
Indeed the background is PhotoShopped
The original is against the blue background of a light box, but my ironing skills are nearly as good as photographic, so I "rubbed it better"
On my monitor the flower looks the same colour as the original, but now we're into profiling - which is next on the shopping list!
Edits are now enabled (d'oh missed that when I signed up!)
btw I did sharpen as the last step before "shrinking for the web" - is that what you meant - or sharpen after shrinking?

Cedarapple:
I thought it was pollen too, but it's actually spots of colour in the petals, so I left them there

Thanks for the feedback both

[RobertP]

Sharpen as the last step before saving is what I meant. btw.'Save for web' strips the exif from the picture so we don't know your settings. 'Save as' keeps the exif but leaves you guessing the file size.

[Susane]

White flowers are not easy to photograph so good effort!
I don't think the strong background is doing it any favours though, although black backgrounds can be good.

Oh and it's an Asiatic Lily. :)

[mmcp42]

thanks guys a most useful exercise
and not so scary after all
I might even post another one day!

[Lady Pitstop]

Lovely flower but I find that the background colour a bit too bold. I think I might have cropped it so that there a was a bit more space to the left. As Susane said, it's difficult to photograph white flowers and you've done a good job.

Although I would still clone the specks off the petals. But it's a good pic - well done!:thumbs:;)

[mmcp42]

I think I've listened to the feedback,
so here's the updated version
- muted background
- wash and brush-up
- more space
thanks for listening & looking!

http://www.Bellaluz1502.com/Photos/LilyII.jpg

[Susane]

Much better background! :)

Had a play with it, tried bringing out the texture and the colour tones, just an idea.:)

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l200/seven317/LilyII.jpg

[mmcp42]

crikey!
how d'you do that?
I'm struggling to get to grips with PhotoShop - hence the question!

ta v much

[Susane]

Select the flower with the lasso doohickey then adjust shadows/highlights, boost saturation then sharpen.
Just learning with PS Elements myself. :lol:

[Cedarapple]

Susane, you really are quite expert at getting the best out of flower shots. I really like your version.

[Susane]

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/littleblue71/smilies/thblushing.gif Shucks, you guys know how to embarrass a girl. I'm just learning Cedarapple but I do have a background of art, fashion and design, maybe that helps. :)

[InaGlo]

OOOh! that looks grand Susane ... really pops now!