The color this week at Project 64 was melon. I thought I had the perfect match with the dahlias in my backyard. When I went out to photograph them I noticed that they were nearing the end of their summer blooming. I tried to photograph them in their natural state but the lighting and the imperfections were too glaring. I decided to attempt staging for the first time. I tend to stick with natural shots and shy away from staging as nature usually does a better job than I can do :o). In this case, though, I gave it a shot. I removed the flower from the stem, pulled off the dead petals and placed it in a vase of water. I moved the vase around a bit to find light that wasn't too harsh and photographed it from above.
In post processing I adjusted all the basic settings and played with the orange and yellow hues to bring out the melon color. I really like how the imperfections in the petals turned out in this shot and how the melon color is found in the gradation of color from dark to light. The water and vase also add to the overall effect and I think my first attempt at staging was somewhat successful. I would love to know what you think is the most important thing to keep in mind when staging still life photos and as always any other thoughts and suggestions are welcome.
"All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites." - Marc Chagall
Great photo :)
ReplyDeleteLovely! My absolute favorite flower.
ReplyDeletewow! simply stunning. i like the contrast of the blue of the vase as well, it really makes the flower pop. i think you did a great job "staging" this flower!! Thank you for stopping by my blog and your lovely comments as well!!
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