same subject, different composition

yesterday’s tulips were photographed upright, with soft backlighting. today’s composition, same subject, is called a flat-lay. i use both techniques quite often.  these two images (yesterday’s and today’s) are both good, i would say they are “on par”–meaning that one is not inherently better than the other.  the colors of the tulip petals and stamen are probably truer in the flat-lay, but the backlit photo has more dimensionality (depth). also, look how the coloring of the stems varies in the two images. i shot these tulips both ways yesterday, and posted both images to instagram last night asking people which format they preferred. as i type, i have had 46 replies, and once again the votes are tied. half the people prefer the flat-lay, and half prefer the backlit.  i am curious, do you have a preference?

p.s. my Garden Club of America talk this morning went off well. i stayed on time which was my biggest worry because once i get talking, i often lose track of time. for those of you from GCA joining us here today, for the first time…welcome! i am thrilled to have you here.

wilted tulips