Bokeh of flowers

[arith]

Or as I suspect just not focused on the right one.

I don't know why I bother with white balance here at 6200 kelvin; because I always go mad with processing here with a linear layer to try and highlight bokeh but then I needed to adjust magenta, and then I needed an inverted overlay layer with Gaussian blur....

[MiniChris]

Well...sometimes, it just doesn't work...I don't think your issue is with the bokeh of the flowers as much as the overly busy background which isn't nearly blurred enough not to be an immediate distraction. You have so many counter-opposing things going on in the setting, it's quite hard to focus on the one flowere despite its size dominance...and your frame serves only to reinforce "busy."

But I do like the flowers...go reshoot it.

[arith]

Well...sometimes, it just doesn't work...I don't think your issue is with the bokeh of the flowers as much as the overly busy background which isn't nearly blurred enough not to be an immediate distraction. You have so many counter-opposing things going on in the setting, it's quite hard to focus on the one flowere despite its size dominance...and your frame serves only to reinforce "busy."

But I do like the flowers...go reshoot it.

I don't want the background to disapear Chris; I want it less prominent. Hows about that then. Well I don't know how to do that, maybe getting more flowers in focus? Most I can go to is f7.1 but then what will happen to the bokeh. If I increased the focal length and stand further back will this blur the background more?

Don't know yet; quick look at dofmaster looks like 70mm at f4 focused at ten paces is the same as 135mm at f4 focused at twenty paces but the hyperfocal distance is 4 times further as expected (f^2)/(Ac) f= focal length A=aperture and c= CoC=0.019mm
approximately.

[MiniChris]

Maybe at 50mm? latter part of the day or earlier part of the morning - too much math for me..I just keep slinging away with my lens repetoire until I get what I want.

Looking back at the image, the shadow seems to reflect a midday sun and I find for good bokeh and darker, and softer backgrounds, late afternnon to be the better sun.

[arith]

found out again; midday it is the only time I can get here. In the morning there ain't any buses and in the evening drug mad idiots spoil the scene.

$$ is what I need to pay for an operation and halt the nonsense talk about time of day.

It is a special time and you should be able to utilise all light, short shadows is ok,

[Steve S]

If mid-day is all you have, then wait for a very bright /cloudy day. You can get some really dramatic (and diffused) light on a cloudy day. Flowers 'demand' great light.

[arith]

It was cloudy; the issue is with the background noise. I really need the background but a bit more out of focus. The specular light at the end is as important as the flower.

How to get all; flower, location, specular lights, that is the problem.

I don't think 50mm is the answer since even more will be in focus. I think this is a hard question/

[speedneeder]

I don't think the lens is as much an issue as the brightness of some areas of the background. The flowers are very nice! If I were to shoot this flower again, I would try it with a reflector to make the flowers brighter in comparison to the background.

[arith]

I don't think the lens is as much an issue as the brightness of some areas of the background. The flowers are very nice! If I were to shoot this flower again, I would try it with a reflector to make the flowers brighter in comparison to the background.

That is a good idea. That is a very good idea.