Another Last Flower of Summer.....

[reverb]

Still playing with Manual control on my D3200, as well as tweaking with iPhoto. Taken with a 35mm lens this afternoon. Welcome all comments.

 

[mikew_RIP]

Nice picture,the fact you didn't place the flower in the middle adds a lot to it,it does however increase the prominence of the other background flowers,this is my quick take on it and ime happy for you not to like it as its all about expression.

Think if it was mine i may have removed the white flowers,it needed more time than i gave it but its better than trying to explain.

 

[mikew_RIP]

So many distractions at this end at the moment but ime back now,maybe a wider aperture or a longer lens to reduce the DOF to give a softer background.

mike

 

[reverb]

Thanks for the advice. Went back and managed to take a second shot in the last light of the afternoon - went down to f1.8 this time, but had to increase the ISO to 200. Shutter kept at 1/250. Gave me that reduced depth. Here's the second version....

 

[mikew_RIP]

Thanks for the advice. Went back and managed to take a second shot in the last light of the afternoon - went down to f1.8 this time, but had to increase the ISO to 200. Shutter kept at 1/250. Gave me that reduced depth. Here's the second version....

View attachment 52284

Like this one a lot more,you have just lost sharpness on some of the petal edges at 1.8 but the overall effect is great.

mike

 

[Horoscope Fish]

Thanks for the advice. Went back and managed to take a second shot in the last light of the afternoon - went down to f1.8 this time, but had to increase the ISO to 200. Shutter kept at 1/250. Gave me that reduced depth. Here's the second version....

View attachment 52284

I'd like to see the uncropped shot... I'm undecided, having not seen the shot OOC, but I'm not sure your crop is helping here.

That being said, depth of field is being used much more effectively in this shot and, just as importantly, you've put a little more room at the top of the frame; this additional "breathing room" has a big impact on the shot overall. I think the white flowers are a nice element. Don't be afraid to shoot multiple shots, varying your settings as you go, in order to find the right combination. I would have probably shot this at f/2.8 and f/4.0, *as well* as f/1.8, because at f/1.8 your DOF is going to be razor thin...

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