Poinsettia 2by
banmornComment by swagman: banmorn
I like the composition, but I think it lacks the sparkle it could have.
The contrast needs to be increased to make the darkest shadows pure black, and to make the small specular lights on the water drop white. The increased contrast will bring out the detail of the petals, ans make the pistils/stamens jump out of the image a bit more. The effect could be enhanced by saturating the yellows a bit. These can be done in Photoshop or other igital darkroom programs.
A lot of this effect could have been enhanced in-camera by opening up the shutter a half to a full stop. Rule of thumb: film or digital, an over-exposure will add snap to the finished image. If nothing else, bracket your exposures to a half under and a full stop over what you think the correct exposure
should be. Eventually, you'll get a feel for how your camera handles the exposures.
This rule of thumb has one weakness: If you have highlights that you want to maintain detail in, overexposing will wash them out. Bracketing is still an excellent idea. We used to say 'Film's cheap,' but a digital file is even cheaper! *grin*
Just my opinions, of course.
Photographer found comment helpful.
