Floral photographers - "Phlorographers" - oftentimes analyze our images and ask ourselves how we can do better. How about a new paradigm?
Why not ask how we can do "different?"
Photographers know that the process of creating an artistic image doesn't begin, nor does it end, with image "capture." There are many factors to consider prior to embarking on a shoot, such as charging batteries, packing memory cards, deciding which lenses to bring, selecting the most optimal time, deciding on what lighting tools to pack, and many more. The same goes for the period following the shoot; there are numerous directions one may decide to go during the editing phase. But, why only settle on only one?
Below are a couple of pairs that illustrate the unique looks one image can take on when edited differently.
The Pink Rose was shot with a Lensbaby Velvet 85 at dusk. The flower was nodding over toward the leaves which appeared to extend like a graceful outstretched arm. I wanted to give a sense of movement and a quirky personality to the rose in the top image. To achieve that, I added two textures in Photoshop. The more subdued image has only one texture layer added.
(See the texture layers below the pair.)
Both of these "texture" layers were added to the Pink Rose in the top image, while the layer on the right was added alone in the bottom Pink Rose image.
The image before Photoshop, sans textures, is shown below.
The base Red Rosebud image provides a clean, simple background, therefore I chose to spruce it up a little. I felt that would introduce a bit of visible traction to attract and move the eye around in the final piece....
Below is the texture added to the Red Rosebud following the addition of 2 color gradients added in Photoshop in the top image. The faintly colored image is a Black and White rendition created from the .psd file after bringing it back into Lightroom. The pale colorwash was a result of adjusting various sliders and adding 3 radial filters around the cluster of buds.
(Original image is below right.)
The possibilities are endless!