Flowers In Fort Canning

[hairygorillaz]

This is one of my first few tries at close-up photography. Cannot really call it macro as i do not have specialized gear. C & C are welcome. Please tell me how to improve if you are able to assist.

No. 1


No. 2


No. 3

[hairygorillaz]

No. 4


No. 5


No. 6

[fv18m]

Bro,

#2, 3, & 6 seems like kinda blurry. Maybe you might want to try with Tripod the next time. Or is it too windy. Didn;t manage to "freeze"the shots.

#1's background looks kind of distracting. I guess with Prosumer, the Best you could is select Macro and "Hope for the BEST".

Maybe it's time to venture into the DSLR realm (of HIGH Spending, nose bleeding, etc).

[hairygorillaz]

Yea. I found it blurry too. It was windy that day.

For #1, do you think photoshop can blur the background more?

I am going to invest in either a Raynox Macro Lens or a close up filter. I'm slightly more inclined to get the filter due to cashflow issues.

Not heading towards a dSLR yet. NS next year. I will probably get it as i'm going to ORD in a long time. Until then, i'll stick with my prosumer.

[hairygorillaz]

actually. for #2, the flower was quite high up. I'm 1.82m and i had to stretch my arms out to capture a shot. So it was probably handshake. But even then, a tripod wouldn't have helped.

[spheredome]

Don't buy any close up filter until you have master taking steady photo. The closer the object, the more shakes are obvious. If you were to use flash on that day, the blur will be solved, unless its too far, then shutter speed will be the solution or wait for the flower to be stable.

[hairygorillaz]

I couldn't help it. Due to wind. When i used my body to "block" the wind, the angle i got was not what i was looking for. So that posed a problem.

[tltan]

the colors need to be more saturated. Am quite surprise that prosumers dont give more vibrant colors. Also, I think your resizing software seems to have lowered the quality.

Flower photography is about a lot of patience as well together with insect photography. That particular moment of stillness #SNAP# and then that might be it for the day, or you have to wait for the next still moment.

A tripod is a must actually. Also, for your #2, actually, there are lots of these hibiscus around, definitely reacheable by you. =) Look at the flowers from an appealing angle instead. Also, watch the background. Yeah, the DOF control is more difficult in prosumer, however, watching the background helps a lot. I see lots of lampost here and there. If you frame the picture to include just greens to contrast the flowers, I think the improvement is already drastic. if the sky is going to be overexposed (white bright areas that takes attention away from ur subject most of the time instead of complimenting them), take the picture without framing the skies.

I have seen great pics with the H2, hence I guess you can do more with it. when the time comes, you are ready for the DSLR!. Good luck, and hope to see more flower works from you!

[hairygorillaz]

I get what you mean about the composition. But what about the colours? When you say more saturated, i'm sure you do not mean my post processing right?

How to prevent the sky from being over exposed?

[tltan]

Originally Posted by hairygorillaz I get what you mean about the composition. But what about the colours? When you say more saturated, i'm sure you do not mean my post processing right? How to prevent the sky from being over exposed?

yeah, you might need to work on the postprocessing actually. What i was wondering is that DSLR (except some brands) seem to give slightly duller pictures which upon post processing really pops! For prosumer and compacts, the colors are usually more saturated before postprocessing (good and bad).

After relooking, it seems that it might be a WB issue. The first picture for example, the flower is a white translucent kind, yet it shows a cool bluish tone through the entire pic as well. You can try curve adjustment or color balance (to adjust the WB). Importantly, since you are not shooting in RAW, you should make sure the WB is quite near before calling it a day.

For the skies, what i meant was totally not including it in the composition since it is not that complimentary anyway. Unless of course, you have a nice cloudy and blue skies day (enhanced with a CPL). But of course, its still your preference to include overexposure if thats the intended effect you want to present.

Just 2 cts worth from a learner as well.

Regards,
tltan

[hairygorillaz]

Thanks Titan.

What is a CPL?

[tltan]

Originally Posted by hairygorillaz Thanks Titan. What is a CPL?

circular polarizer. do read up on that. coz it works only at certain angles to the direction of the sun. =)

[hairygorillaz]

Ok. Thanks. I'll go get a tripod and try again. Hope to hear from you again.

Thanks for your comments. I'll keep it in mind next time i go on a shoot.

What do you guys think of taking flowers against a black background?

[hairygorillaz]

OH YA.

How do i get my WB accurately?

[tltan]

Originally Posted by hairygorillaz Ok. Thanks. I'll go get a tripod and try again. Hope to hear from you again. Thanks for your comments. I'll keep it in mind next time i go on a shoot. What do you guys think of taking flowers against a black background?

Studio like? As in using a black card? depends on what you want to achieve. it will not look norm due to the background though but advertisement wise, why not?

Originally Posted by hairygorillaz OH YA. How do i get my WB accurately?

Maybe your camera have a WB preset function? or just try the various WB settings. Usually outdoors, can use Auto or daylight, maybe even flash. Have to try dependant on camera.

[hairygorillaz]

I was more thinking of custom white balance. Cos when i took the pics, the WB was set to cloudy. But it didn't come out right...

[spheredome]

Originally Posted by hairygorillaz actually. for #2, the flower was quite high up. I'm 1.82m and i had to stretch my arms out to capture a shot. So it was probably handshake. But even then, a tripod wouldn't have helped.

Theoretically, with higher ISO say 100/200, you should be able to get a pretty stable shot. But yours are at iso 80. While I can't comment on DSC-H2, Sony P&S like the T-series actually enhance the LCD image, thus making it hard to identify raw quality of the picture taken.

[hairygorillaz]

I'll try raising the ISO next time. I am not sure about the LCD as i use the EVF. But it think the problem is still the same, since it is not TTL.