This image, of a closed bloodroot blossom, was shot on the same morning as the spring beauty that I posted last week. The water drops are from an over night rain shower.

As with all genre of photography, but especially so with close-up and macro photography, the background is as important as the subject. A strong subject against a busy background will not make for a strong image. The viewer will keep being pulled away from the subject

Here only the blossom was lit and most of the background was in the shade. Exposing for the flower resulted in the background being rendered very dark (black). Thus all the details and busyness in the background are hidden.

Only the up turned out of focus green leaf of the bloodroot caught enough light to be visible. And in this image that is important to give it context. If the background had been pure black I don’t think the image would be as strong. Read more »