Blue Daisyby
XukoComment by bassbone: Rick - A good first effort. Close cropping can work really well with these pretty flowers. A couple of pointers on post processing.
First - make USM (unsharp mask) your friend. This filter is a technique to increase local contrast resulting in sharper and more defined images. Go to Filters - Sharpen - Unsharp Mask to get to it. A good quick rule of thumb is for images for DPC (around 640pixels across) is to use values of ~100-300%, 0.2 radius, and 0.0 threshold. You can play with the sliders to get the look you want but don't overdo it - if you see jagged edges around objects, you have gone too far!
Second - follow the tutorials to learn how to use adjustment layers. These non-pixel containing layers allow you to adjust and readjust the levels, contrast/brightness, hue/saturation, etc over and over again so that you can maximize the editing.
Third - If you are not currently using levels and the histogram, you might this a powerful tool for improving the dynamic range of your photos.
I tried a quick edit of your first entry and noticed that the histogram for the photo seems to be a little off. The image itself seems a bit light and therefore a little lifeless. By using the full range of darks to lights on the histogram, you will maximize the differences between dark and light.
Good luck and welcome to DPC!
Peter
Photographer found comment helpful.
