Leveled Rose

[mic]

This is my Rose shot where I adjusted the Levels to remove the Background so much it just about jumps out at ya

Well I think it looks alright, what about you ?

[coolbeer6]

hi mic , im not normaly ane for flowers but i like the way the rose come out of the pic 3D like ..
nice pic

[big pix]

I like what you have done.........but maybe a slightly tighter crop so the flower stands out more and to get rid of some background

big pix

[Manta]

Excellent shot Mic. I like how you've just kept those highlights in check without them blowing. Terrific colour as well. I agree with Big Pix, though - a tighter crop would be my preference.

I'm curious - using Levels to take out the background? Was it a very dark background to start with and you just made it darker or is there something else I'm missing here?

[-=Monty=-]

Yes, please tell us how you removed the background. Did you use channels? and if so , how.

Fantastic photo though. I agree with the tighter crop too.

[Manta]

You're 13 Monty?!! Gee I wish I had a toy like a D70 when I was that age! You're one lucky dude.

[birddog114]

Monty,
Lucky boy you're!, i remebered when I was at your age, the best toy I can afford was, the empty sardine tins which I used as a car drawn by a string with 4 beer's bottle caps as its wheel, and all my guns were bamboo or tree branches which I played combat game with my friends.

[Manta]

Monty,
Lucky boy you're!, i remebered when I was at your age, the best toy I can afford was, the empty sardine tins which I used as a car drawn by a string with 4 beer's bottle caps as its wheel, and all my guns were bamboo or tree branches which I played combat game with my friends.

There's a snapshot of history, Monty. Society has come a long way. I'm sure you realise how lucky you are to have such luxuries.

[mic]

O.K. Boys here you go.

I cropped / adjusted levels ( left channel to around half way to the right )
( Right channel a tad to the left )

I also put a cooling filtet on 30% to calm the colour a bit.

Thats it

I have also included original if you want to play with to see what happens when you just adjust the Levels.

Glad you liked.

Mic.

[kipper]

It's funny what you can do with flowers isn't it Mic
I was playing around with a shot that I took of a flower yesterday and just adjusted the hues/saturation/lightness in various channels. I turned a red flower into an orange and purple one with vibrant green folage. Btw, how come you didn't use the extract tool (think it might be a Photshop CS thing, don't remember it pre CS).

[mic]

Yes Kipper it is,

Some flowers work, some don't.

I'm just getting used to the Extract Tool, but just happen to try this and it looked much better.
I have to work on my Extractions.

Mic.

[kipper]

Yeah I had a quick play around with it yesterday and sort of managed a rough extraction but had some issues around the edge.

[mic]

Yes, I am finding with Extraction you have to be very carefull with the initial traceing otherwise it can look pretty crappy and fake ( which it is I suppose ) but you know what I mean.

Mic.

[big pix]

Mic ......the re-crop works a treat...... but I also like the soft colour of the original, should try a crop on that as well........good work

big pix

[KerryPierce]

You prolly don't want to hear this, but I like the original the best....

[mic]

Thanks BP, Yeah, I do too, but I like how the background just dissapeared completely on this one.

Kerry, yes you are right I don't won't to hear that
But Hey, this is what Critiques is all about.

I personally think it's the best flower I've done ( so to speak )

Cheers,

Mic.

[Mark T]

OK, I'm going to go a little against the grain here, but I think the reds in the original have been overexposed.

When photographing a scene with primarily red (or blue) the auto exposure will overexpose for that colour. It has something to do with the RGB filter built into the CCD (25% red + 50% green + 25% blue). Accordingly, if you don't want the reds blown out, you must dial in some -ve EV.

If you open the original flower and check the levels in the red channel (Photoshop - Image -> Adjustments -> Channel: Red), you will see what I mean. Alternatively, look directly at the red channel in the Channels palete.

What this all means, is that you really don't have a lot of red information in the rose to play with. Consequently, in the PP'd image, instead of seeing detail of the petals in the centre of the rose, all I see are areas of red with all the detail lost.

[mudder]

Just goes to show how differently everyone sees the same pic, I much prefer the original with softer colouring, maybe that softer (peachy colour?) one with the black background in a portrait orientation?

Cheers.

[mic]

Mark T, Thanks for your detailed Critique. I'll take your word for it

Thanks mudder Yes it is, just shows you how everybody likes or dislikes an image

I personally like the very 1st without the Crop, I love hte blackness around it.

Each to their own.

Cheers,

Mic.