Iris left or Iris right?

[dougsmit]

I often shoot flowers (or anything else) more than one way which often requires making choices I don't like to make. Insects get picked by their angle or other technical features but these two shots of Iris differ only in lighting. Is one better than the other? Why?

[mcbit]

Well I'd love to say I could see a difference but I can't see enough of one to make me have a preference.

[tbnj]

I dunno... they're super similar. If I had to choose, I'd lean toward the photo on the left.

Tina

[Glottis]

I like the right one more. It has more light in the right places and you can see more details. The left one is too bright in places, and too dark in others.
I still have a monster CRT (weighs about 38 Kg!), Sony Trinitron F520, bought it in 2000-2001. I guess it is helping me see the difference. It's a great monitor! I hope it won't die on me soon...
Tony.

[LordV]

I think the pics only vary in the angle of the light not the type of light. So they are very similar with just different petals showing different shading. Lovely shots though

brian V.

[dougsmit]

Thanks to all. The difference is the angle of the light to the right. Such a change would get comment over in the People forum but seems unfamiliar here. I see them as different but not so much a matter of better or worse. I like lighting that gives texture to single colored petals but carrying it too far looks unnatural. Is anyone else shooting cut flowers?

[tbnj]

I think a change in the angle of light would get more comment in the people/portraits forum because changing the angle of the lights can either be very dramatic or cause uncomplimentary shadows on the face, etc., so it is more noticeable. Something like you've shown here is just a matter of preference, because they both look good. IMO

I still prefer the one on the left.

Tina

[wingspar]

If one wants to get real picky, I would pick the one on the left as it has less blown highlights, mostly on the yet unopened bud, and the stems. The stems might be considered too dark on the photo on the left, and could be opened up a little with the Shadows and Highlights tool, which would probably open up the black background a tad, but this could be corrected by using the selective color tool without affecting the flower.

Lighting flowers vs people. Apples and oranges.

[dougsmit]

Thanks to all. I made my choice and entered it in the macro challenge.
Macro Challenge #9 - Flowers
Which did I choose? Both and neither depending on how you look at it. Since the two were the same framing, I stacked the two selecting the parts of each I liked best.

[Athena]

I prefer the petals in the right photo and the stems in the left photo.

[loeee]

Originally Posted by Athena

I prefer the petals in the right photo and the stems in the left photo.

Right, especially on the middle blossom — the one with its "face" to the camera.