Congratulations on another great floral image Jay. Your drawing the final image out of the original is very well done. Good use of a macro lens, the available light and also the short time that the blooms are available to you. Please remember that you were there and I wasn't, so I have no idea of the conditions and location when you pressed the shutter. Your depth of field is good with the blurred background, but I would like to see an alternate image taken from just a foot or two either side, just to get that tree limb out of the frame completely, rather than blurred in the background. You know and I don't know, if there was something stopping you from taking that step? How would the slight change in the direction of light affect your image? Was there another limb out of this frame, that would have come into the frame if you moved? These are all questions that only you can answer and maybe consider with future images. After all is said and done, this is still a great image Jay.   Posted: 05/07/2023 06:25:14

There's a 'rule' in photography about groups of three - like all photography rules it's there to be broken but sometimes as here it serves well, and the group of three flowers makes a very nice arrangement. I don't mind the branch behind the flowers too much because the flowers hold the attention, but I wondered why the flowers were so small in the original. With a macro lens could you not get in closer or were they too high up in the tree? Regardless it's a good image of some attractive blossom and hopefully the quality stands up to the cropping you have had to do.   Posted: 05/08/2023 11:47:00

I like the group of "three" as mentioned by Gordon. This makes for a nice setting. Just for fun I decided to work on your image to see what I could do with your image. The background was lightened first, then I selected the blossoms and lightened them. I then did a radial gradient over the blossoms, inverted it and lightened a bit. I do like the diagonal of the branch that the blossoms are on. Perhaps my image might be a bit light. Well done on your image Jay.   Posted: 05/08/2023 19:25:37

Thanks for your comments, Henriette. I like your rendition of the image, the lighter background is better.   Posted: 05/20/2023 16:13:54

Apart from the fact that it's a nice picture to look at, I agree with Henriette about starting the picture on the top right with the branch. For the treatments you seem to have a good command of the subject, much better than me. I only use Photoshop and Nik Collection. I have never understood anything about Lightroom. In short, the goal being to make a beautiful image, your knowledge of the tools is an asset for your photography.
Well done.   Posted: 05/22/2023 05:01:36

The stamen and petals all appear sharp, which is so important. It's a nicer cluster of three. Backgrounds are always so subjective - go lighter, go darker, what you didn't or did see. It all depends on what story you are trying to tell. I like the tree branch leading in from top right too. As far as the background, go into LR, use the gradient to isolate the subject, add in the branch, then invert and play with the background: lighter to white, darker to black. See what you think tells your story. This is a nicely composed image Jay.   Posted: 05/27/2023 10:16:19