How do think I can improve this photo

[brancho]

How do think I can improve this photo

I will say I bought a new tripod a few hours later as my old one has given up the ghost

It has been cropped and the size reduced but no other editing

 

[Daegurth]

less central would be better, i think. it's not a symmetrical subject, so to my mind, it doesn't benefit from being put in the middle of the photo.

get the stem the head's actually on the end of more in frame, and diagonal for a path through the scene

crop/rubber stamp out the stray stem in the bottom left.

try and get all of the head and the stem in sharp focus, not just the top of the seed head. if it was taken without a tripod, as you imply, then obviously that's not so feasible.


despite how the above may sound, i rather like the pic.

 

[ZDP-189]

Decrease the aperture from about 4-5.6 ish there to about 7 and go to a longer zoom. That'll bring the whole head into focus but keep the background out of focus. Add a little reflector lighting to bring the forground into highlight.

 

[Fred_Bear]

Nice and festive picture. I would zoom as well, it is sometimes a better close up by utilizing zoom and being a bit further away (if that makes sense). It is difficult not automatically getting as close as possible because that seems the most sensible way to get a close up shot.

 

[brancho]

Nice and festive picture. I would zoom as well, it is sometimes a better close up by utilizing zoom and being a bit further away (if that makes sense). It is difficult not automatically getting as close as possible because that seems the most sensible way to get a close up shot.

I understand what you mean.

Its a new camera to me and I baought a new tripod later in the day which would have helped me slow down and think about a bit more.

 

[Phil6201]

As has already been mentioned, move it off centre. Do a Google search on the rule of thirds.

While it is acceptable to have some of your subject out of focus, it should not be the bit closest to the viewer, this makes for a slightly 'disturbing' image in the sense that the eye doesn't see things that way, and although most people will find something a bit odd about it, the cause may not be apparent to them.

 

[brancho]

I am aware of the rule of thirds.
I was not using a tripod and I was using AF and did not know check the depth of field on my new camera when I took I am still learning how to get on with teh camera.

I think it needed more depth of field myself more than anything and the clutter removed from the frame but thats partly down to not using a tripod.

 

[skoper]

couple of stops less exposure to blacken out the background, more depth of field to give more front to back focus, and a bit of fill in flash to freeze any movement and lift the subject a little,it would kind of look like a starburst against a black background, pick some of the distracting stems from around the frame area

 

[Squidders]

I would actually do all of the above (or below) with the exception of fill flash... I think that shooting things like frost, ice and leaves... semi transparent things... much more interesting with the light pouring through them on the way to the to the camera. That might just be me though.

 

[singteck]

Focus on the point closes to the lense and not the back. Move in closer so that it fills the whole frame. But the most important improvement you can make is to place a black velvet cardboard behind the flower and use the cardboard as the background. Make sure there is no light reflecting from the cardboard.

singteck