Almost 3D

Roses: These are photographed so often they have become a cliche (along with pictures of swans). Here for example, is a recent rose picture that I have given the works to add some impact.

I wanted to show the depth of the scene, with the roses, the hedge and the gravestones at different distances.






Firstly I arranged to set the red roses against a darker background. This is a matter of moving your viewpoint until you start to see the image in your mind. It is also said that red tends to catch the attention and come to the front of an image, due to the way we see things. 

I used a long lens to separate the Roses from the hedge by making the background go slightly out of focus. This also requires some thought about shutter speed and ISO setting if you wish to avoid camera shake. I used exposure compensation (as I often do in these circumstances) to keep the hedge darker.

Now we move to tricks in the computer. Firstly I gave the image the Orton Sandwich look which adds a vague dream like quality. Then I used an intensity curve that simulates Velvia film. This over emphasises the colour contrast and adds punch. Finally I re-sized it for the blog and added a small amount of sharpening to restore the look of the full size image.

See. Point, and shoot.

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