p.1 #1 · Some wildflowers from this summer (edit added)
Spring and early summer wildflowers all bloomed together this year, then it was dry & mid-lat summer blooms either came early or not at all.
Thanks for looking!
I added a shot of pasque flowers from last year where I just blurred the background. Masking the 2025 one was a major pain with all the hairs, so when I was looking for earlier processing versions, this one just jumped out.
p.1 #4 · Some wildflowers from this summer (edit added)
Really finding the last one peaceful and simply beautiful Monika
The Pasque flower is such a stunning subject. The balance of dark and light on this one might be too much, assuming you wanted to minimize the business of the bg? Can you select and blur or soften the bg rather than darken it as much?
Clarkia shows nicely on the similar colored bg, excellent details, very pretty!
Calypso a very challenging subject for sure! Maybe a little different angle on it to make it more 3D?
Mariposa, striking!
Coral root has a beautiful flow to it Nice blur on the bg if you can duplicate that or close on Pasque perhaps
p.1 #5 · Some wildflowers from this summer (edit added)
1, 2 and the last being my fave of those three for me Monika.
I kinda like the glow that the vignette creates around the Pasque, but if you do want to change it slightly without starting over from scratch, perhaps just use the Select Subject tool, then reverse your selection, then open Shadow/Highlight tool in Adobe (assuming if using PS) to take the shadows back up 2% and invert your selection back to the subject, knock the highlights down 1% or maybe leave the highlights alone, just have to see it after you adjust the shadows and know what you got at that point. As others have said, you could also decide to blur the background while you have it selected if it's bothering you. Noise reduction on the selected background can soften it too... just some tips from a PS hack, others probably can suggest better methods.
p.1 #8 · Some wildflowers from this summer (edit added)
Karl Witt wrote:
Really finding the last one peaceful and simply beautiful Monika
The Pasque flower is such a stunning subject. The balance of dark and light on this one might be too much, assuming you wanted to minimize the business of the bg? Can you select and blur or soften the bg rather than darken it as much?
Clarkia shows nicely on the similar colored bg, excellent details, very pretty!
Calypso a very challenging subject for sure! Maybe a little different angle on it to make it more 3D?
Mariposa, striking!
Coral root has a beautiful flow to it Nice blur on the bg if you can duplicate that or close on Pasque perhaps
Thanks for the detailed response, Karl. I start out with the LR blur, which is generally not enough as I learned to use PS masking, then Field Blur. Sometimes I'll do both if LR is not enough since the LR masking is so much better. My aim is to minimize the BG so that it doesn't distract from detail in the flowers. I'll dial it back a bit & repost.
As I'm sure you know, Calypsos are less than an inch on the long side and grow about that far off the ground. I keep hoping to find one growing on a slope so I can shoot from below, but so far, no luck. The big patches I've found in years past are now just ant hills.....
p.1 #9 · Some wildflowers from this summer (edit added)
Erictator wrote:
1, 2 and the last being my fave of those three for me Monika.
I kinda like the glow that the vignette creates around the Pasque, but if you do want to change it slightly without starting over from scratch, perhaps just use the Select Subject tool, then reverse your selection, then open Shadow/Highlight tool in Adobe (assuming if using PS) to take the shadows back up 2% and invert your selection back to the subject, knock the highlights down 1% or maybe leave the highlights alone, just have to see it after you adjust the shadows and know what you got at that point. As others have said, you could also decide to blur the background while you have it selected if it's bothering you. Noise reduction on the selected background can soften it too... just some tips from a PS hack, others probably can suggest better methods.
p.1 #10 · Some wildflowers from this summer (edit added)
Monika C wrote:
Thanks for the detailed response, Karl. I start out with the LR blur, which is generally not enough as I learned to use PS masking, then Field Blur. Sometimes I'll do both if LR is not enough since the LR masking is so much better. My aim is to minimize the BG so that it doesn't distract from detail in the flowers. I'll dial it back a bit & repost.
As I'm sure you know, Calypsos are less than an inch on the long side and grow about that far off the ground. I keep hoping to find one growing on a slope so I can shoot from below, but so far, no luck. The big patches I've found in years past are now just ant hills........Show more →
I would have that last one printed and on my wall Monika, #1 beautiful!!
Nice blur on the bg if you can duplicate that or close on Pasque perhaps