After shooting (without killing) a lusty red amaryllis plant yesterday and posting to my RedBubble sales account, I began to ponder.
Does the sharp detail err on the side of masculine? A quick perusal of others’ photos reveals shallow depth-of-field photos, blurred intentionally using the Orton effects, and then covered by a layer of texture. Softness seems to be in style, whether the original were in focus or not. As wikipedia states about the Orton effect:
“Photography enthusiasts, such as groups on Flickr, have embraced the technique and used photo editing programs, like Adobe Photoshop, to replicate it. Some have modified the technique to selectively apply the technique, producing images that have regions of crisp focus and high detail and regions of intense blurriness.”
Pssh. I was pleased that I didn’t touch the RAW photo with Photoshop, except to convert to a jpeg. One assumes that softness sells, but that’s not the aim here. I aim to see in new ways every day. Okay, sales are nice. My accountant likes them.
Or softer, perhaps, with a vignette and lighter background, as in the next shot? Perhaps this looks less clinical and more romantic. (Photo links to sales site.)
Don’t run with what others are doing—this looks great. I like the crisp effect against the deep black background.
Linda
I love the crispness and contrast, Jan. It has plenty of its own texture. I think it looks beautiful.
As for editing – I love Photoshop, as you know. At times I’ll “over-edit” a photo because I like the shot, but it’s lacking something or I just want to have fun and play textures and filters, etc.
You are a superb photographer. You don’t need to go messing with your work. It stands on its own.