We've still got a good month before spring flowers here in Colorado, but that doesn't mean it's not time to dream!
In this edition of Runner Up, I hope to show how important it is to find the best position for your photo. I notice this clump of flowers in our backyard, and was taken by the variety and vibrant colors. My first shot labeled "Bad" was .... well .... bad. A quick snap may be a good idea for wildlife that might run off, but I don't think that was a realistic worry here. This bad image has several problems. The biggest is the bit hole in the top right - with lots of dirt showing. Ugh. From the top one can see the aster- and daisy-like flowers best, but this perspective also makes the flowers look rather far apart rather than the dense cluster I want to convey.
The "Better" shot is a big improvement. I repositioned myself, particularly getting down low to both hide the dirt and make the flowers look closer. The flowers also make a pleasing triangle shape. So what's not to like? To my eye, the bottom of the triangle is too parallel to the bottom of the frame, making the image appear too static. Also there are some nasty blades of grass crossing the flowers, especially in the lower center.
For the "Best" shot, I moved my tripod over a tad to place most blades of grass between the flowers and made the bottom edge of the triangle flow up to the right. I also moved the camera up a smidgen the near flowers show more face-on and less in profile, all without showing too much more dirt. This perspective also enhanced the sense of a tight cluster of flowers.