Photo Critique #134

Photo Critique #134

on Apr 27th 2012 with 7 comments

Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer constructive feedback on the image. It’s a great way to learn more about photography, express your viewpoint, and have your own image critiqued!

Quick Ground Rules

  1. Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
  2. Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
  3. You can also link to photographs that you feel offer a great example of this type of image shot exceptionally well.

Without further ado, here is this week’s candidate for Friday Photo Critique!

The Photograph

Photo Details & Inspiration

  • Canon 400D
  • 50mm
  • f/2
  • 1/2000
  • ISO 100

I was visiting this park with many different flowers, and I thought it would be the perfect occasion to try out some “Macro” shots. I came across this beautiful lily pad where a bee was flying around. I wanted to capture the bee when it was slightly on the left of the flower. I took maybe five photos before the bee left.

Unfortunately, most of the shots had the lily pad in focus but not the bee, or the other way around. This is the only one where both subjects are in focus, probably because the bee is on the flower. I think this shot is very colorful, and the bee is bringing some life in the photo.

Please tell me what I could improve, and check the other pictures I took that day on my Flickr. Thank you.

Photographer: Aurelien Lina

Please let us know what you think in the comments – how would you have approached the scene or taken the photo differently? A massive thank you to everyone who commented last week.

The most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site. Interested in submitting your own photo? You can do so here!

 
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By

Rollover to read this author's bio or click through to see a full list of posts by this author.

I was raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. After high school, I left for Western Kentucky University where I obtained degrees in photojournalism and cultural anthropology. I am currently employed by CityBeat, an arts and entertainment weekly in Cincinnati. The work I am doing here is very rewarding and I suspect it will continue to be. I am available for freelance work in all areas of photography.  

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  • http://frymanfoto.com Bill Fryman

    I’ll start by saying this is a really pretty shot. I enjoy shooting lilies because of the brilliant and diverse colors. Were I just looking at a shot of the lily I would only have some minor concerns, more on those below, but when I read your comments your goal was to capture the bee. Unfortunately, when I first viewed the photo, I didn’t even see the bee. I had to search for it because it blends in so well with the flower. Because the colors are so similar, I think the only way to have the bee stand out would have been to zoom in much closer, perhaps isolating only the center of the flower. This is a really tough shot so I’m not convinced that even that would really emphasize the bee.

    I like the overall shot although I find the stem and leaf on the left side somewhat distracting. Your lens was wide open so not much help there. Possibly reaim to the right to avoid these unless there are bigger problems on the right. If so, maybe a tighter crop.

    There is some softness in the petals of the flower but I don’t find that to be a problem.

    One other idea might be to shoot from a higher angle to move the flower more to the center of the lily pad or to shoot from a lower angle to place more water in the background (this is just an idea, I’m not sure exactly why but I don’t like the way the lily pad bisects the flower). Doing this might also eliminate or minimize the distortion in the water around the left side of the lily pad.

  • Chris P

    I too agree that this is a good shot but I also missed the bee. Also the left side of the photo is a tad distracting. Maybe a tighter crop (applying the rule of thirds) placing the bee in the upper left intersection. This will bring more eyes to the bee and still show a decent amount of lily and pad.

  • http://allornothingtraveler.com Jared Loftus

    I agree with Bill, this is really pretty. The flower looks beautiful. However like Bill was saying, I don’t really like the stem. I think i actually like the thumbnail image at the top of the post more than the full image. I know that puts the bee dead center in the photo, so maybe move around a bit for a different angle to get the stem out of there. Personally I would have liked to see only the bee and flower in focus with the background blurred out. You were already operating at a wide open aperture though, so maybe that would take a little post processing. Possibly the new Iris blur filter on the CS6 beta. But this would also solve, or at least help, the stem problem if it was blurred out. Anyway, nice work! I love the redish purple stamens there!

  • http://www.davidhbrooksphotography.com David Brooks

    I really didn’t notice the bee in the photograph until i read that it was there. Its colour is almost like the center of the flower. Try using different colour bees :). Of course, if they are not available to you maybe a lower angle so that the bee is set against the background of the flower pedal rather than the center. Without the bee, the composition i believe is about right, though the leaf on the left may be a little distracting. Maybe also if the bright green background leaf was a little less focused, the flower would pop more. And of course, my downfall would be to add a little saturation to the purple–maybe a little less to the green.
    Cheers!
    Keep on shooting.
    DHB

  • http://Www.corlettimages.com Stu

    I would have either got lower so I got a profile shot of the flower and bee giving more 3D to the image or gone from directly above eg. http://stucorlett.photoshelter.com/image?&_bqG=6&_bqH=eJxtT11LAzEQ_DW95xN6YAt5yGW3ZWkuqfmozVNotSgoLXj15X692aPooQYymZndSbJp3j._PA5Hq3FxodWh8fXx_Xw_PKR6uZgv7.qad0HK4JXQl.tnX1H2IAPOmrbrZg2IiQHABsDESmWxyWex8XcU_0bx_6iikMbHQikzUTaa4FImb1laR2hKjaxhST471Cg9wk1up9pbF4STZlONs2VpQFwLjx5dJhCR537bGj.0.tzs.QM7ciFKneUajUrcVGXVZioXl.iNxm_qVj.0YypVEP3p8PH0Wu3G9HpExfgFpZxw3A–&GI_ID=

    This image is somewhere in between those angles and the angle is somehow boring…

    Also, get a bit closer.

    Also, do some post work. Burn the water and simplify the image getting rid of the distractions. Pump up the saturation and make an s-curve in the levels and you will find it improves the shot.

    Lotus flowers always seem to have a bee on them so you can afford to wait around for the bee to be in he perfect place. I find them distracting so try and shoo em away.

    You will also find that sprinkling some water on the flower makes it fresher and the colors pop a bit more.

  • Jacques

    Without extension tube or close-up filter I would say that you can’t go close enough with the 50mm.
    Now the picture is more a close-up than a macro.
    I like the picture, but as Jared mentioned already I also prefer the crop as showed in the tumbnail image.
    If you have a tripod, use it and wait patiently, those bees are coming back.
    The tripod will give you also the advantage that you can use a longer exposure and smaller apperture; what you’ll need when you go closer.
    If the bee is the main part of your shot, you should be able to count the hairs on the bee.
    What I mean is that the focus should really be on the bee. The bee should be very sharp.

  • Alan

    I likw the square version at the top of the page much more than the uncropped version. The square version is an example of decorative photography (vastly superior to so-called “decorator art”). The little bit of softness is no problem. I personally would eliminate the bee with a little tedious editing, and would color the leaf pure black so that only the flower remained. Then you will have something terrific if printed 12′X12″ or larger and framed. Decorative photographs don’t win art photo prizes, nor are they intended to. But hung on a wall they (and yours) will look absolutly great.