Oriental Lilies

[Bonsaidad]

Some Oriental lilies that i have been waiting to bloom, there is one more to flower and post at a later date.



Comments and critique welcome.






















Best regards Paul

[snaarman]

Re: Oriental Lilies

I like the look of these, and I would offer some advice to nudge towards perfection if I may..

It would be great if you got a much larger piece of background card and did the usual trick where the card sweeps from horizontal (under the figure) to vertical (behind the figure) in a smooth curve leaving no visible join. This isolates the flower and the image because the background is seamless.

I tend to use white or cream card - this is a cheap trick on my part. If I get any creases or marks on the card, I can usually get rid of them by over exposing the background lighting. Shhh :-)

A further thought about the 1st and 3rd images: I would prefer it to get all the flower in the frame. It may seem a small thing but cropping a single petal (or part of a tree for that matter) at the edge of a frame can take the sparkle off an otherwise excellent image.

Hope this helps.

Looking good though..

Pete

[Graham_of_Rainham]

Re: Oriental Lilies

I use paper, as it don't crease the way mountboard will. However if you are setting up something for a big shoot, soaking the back of the board, forming it, then rolling it with a rolling pin works. To soak the board lay it on a wet towel to get even soaking or the colour changes in patches that are wettest.

I like the construct of the shots, well put together. You may want to experiment with multi- coloured lights - great fun.

[Guest]

Re: Oriental Lilies

OK

I don't really understand these

There are two shots with a figurine - but the figurine (while fine as an ornament) doesn't have the the degree of detail to match the flower (now a finely carved old weeping lady would have been a great accompaniement),

There is a very nice shot of an individual flower which I like, though I wonder if a different angle (the stalk coming through a corner) wouldn't have been stronger. But it's a lovely flower, suits the background and has been well caught.

The final shot - well my eye keeps going to the light leaf away from the flower, which is a pity as again the flower and background work well together.

Nick

[Bonsaidad]

Re: Oriental Lilies

I like the look of these, and I would offer some advice to nudge towards perfection if I may..

It would be great if you got a much larger piece of background card and did the usual trick where the card sweeps from horizontal (under the figure) to vertical (behind the figure) in a smooth curve leaving no visible join. This isolates the flower and the image because the background is seamless.

I tend to use white or cream card - this is a cheap trick on my part. If I get any creases or marks on the card, I can usually get rid of them by over exposing the background lighting. Shhh :-)

A further thought about the 1st and 3rd images: I would prefer it to get all the flower in the frame. It may seem a small thing but cropping a single petal (or part of a tree for that matter) at the edge of a frame can take the sparkle off an otherwise excellent image.

Hope this helps.

Looking good though..

Pete

Thank you Pete for your kind words.
I must agree that getting the blooms all in the frame would look that much better, how to go about it is something i have to work out for myself as some stems are quite short, and i have to use grips to secure them.

Using the large piece of card as you suggested is a good idea, i have tried this before and i still have the card available.
Anyhow its quite cheap in the craft shop up town, but the colors i have so far are just black, and light blue, so i may buy some more.



Best regards Paul

[Bonsaidad]

Re: Oriental Lilies

I use paper, as it don't crease the way mountboard will. However if you are setting up something for a big shoot, soaking the back of the board, forming it, then rolling it with a rolling pin works. To soak the board lay it on a wet towel to get even soaking or the colour changes in patches that are wettest.

I like the construct of the shots, well put together. You may want to experiment with multi- coloured lights - great fun.

Thanks Graham for the tip on the BG formation, and i may try different lights to illuminate the BG as you suggested.



Best regards Paul

[Bonsaidad]

Re: Oriental Lilies

OK

I don't really understand these

There are two shots with a figurine - but the figurine (while fine as an ornament) doesn't have the the degree of detail to match the flower (now a finely carved old weeping lady would have been a great accompaniment),

There is a very nice shot of an individual flower which I like, though I wonder if a different angle (the stalk coming through a corner) wouldn't have been stronger. But it's a lovely flower, suits the background and has been well caught.

The final shot - well my eye keeps going to the light leaf away from the flower, which is a pity as again the flower and background work well together.

Nick

Ah, Nick thanks for the comments.
That light leaf is really a different petal of the other Lily bloom which i plan to shoot at a later date.
This particular bloom had some flaws that i felt i would not have been able to alter in PS, so i will wait until a few more open up.



Best regards Paul