The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I saw this wasp shining in the sunlight and ran for my camera.
Specific Feedback
Anything you can think of that might improve the image.
Technical Details
Canon Mark IV, Canon 100 mm macro lens, KX-800 twin flash with diffuser. Settings manual 1/200, f10, ISO 320. Cropped a little in LR to remove some oof leaves.
Okay, I haven’t used PS in so long, I am really going to have to watch some videos on it. So, I went back to LR (I tried NIK too, and hadn’t used it in quite awhile) and this is what came up with, trying to use the guidance of @Kris_Smith@Diane_Miller and @EgĂdio to improve the image. Does this work?
Wow, another beaut! I love the color contrast between the yellower green leaves and the bluer green wasp. Really outstanding sharpness and control of that flash. And check out that long back leg - so cool. This may be a type of cuckoo wasp since they have this kind of coloring. So beautiful. One suggestion is to take down the bright spots in the leaves to the upper left. You could do this with a solid color layer in Ps - put a black mask and then paint with a white brush over the light area. I find it works really well when just taking down exposure or highlights makes things gray. You could also have a try with opening some of the shadow detail on the left side of her body…just a touch.
It’s funny, when I was younger…say younger than 40, I was massively afraid of wasps and hornets. I mean freak out screaming if they were close to me. Now I have come to grips with the fact that unless I’m too close to a nest, a wasp isn’t going to sting me unless I’m trying to hurt it directly. A huge step for me and while I haven’t done much close work like this with them, I did actually rescue one from a hotel lobby yesterday. She was on the window frantically trying to get out and so I put her in a cup and brought her outside. I think she was happy.
Thank you, Kris. I don’t normally take my photos in PS, but might need to with this one. I also have been known to use NIK to fix highlights and leaves like these that call too much attention, and I didn’t do that for some reason. I will try to work on it and do a repost, hopefully sometime today.
Excellent view of a creature I probably wouldn’t get that close to. It looks pretty fierce. Very nice focus and detail with interesting DOF falloff that contributes to the presentation. I think it might work to pull down a gradient from the top in LR (or in PS if you don’t want to go back to the raw file) to about halfway down, and just reduce exposure or highlights sliders. Or even crop a little from the top, about halfway to the top of the in-focus leaf on the left…
Wow, Shirley! You really nailed the detail on the face of this wasp. It’s neat to see the mouth and eyes so sharp. I’ve never seen a blue wasp before. I think the only thing I can see, which I think was already mentioned, is that the leaves on the top right are kind of bright but I wouldn’t even know how to change that., Really beautiful image!
Really nice detailed look at this blue wasp, Shirley!
The blue color is almost iridescent like the neck and head on ducks.
The pose and framing is very effective and the environment is fitting and natural.
I like the red fringe on the leaves, it adds a nice bit of contrast in color for me.
Shirley, you found yourself a very cooperating wasp sunbathing. The level of detail on its face and mouth is astonishing, not to mention the beautiful blue color. The DOF is also impressive. Although the image was made at f/10, you must have been really close to it to obtain that shallow DOF. I am somewhat troubled, though, that its right antenna fell off your range. Oh well, we cannot go against nature to get a perfect shot, can we?
I would like to piggyback on the suggestions to tame the highlights on the upper half of the photo. You can probably get that done in LR without having to use PS. Since you said the wasp was sunbathing, I’d love to see more light on the wasp breaking its uniform surroundings. One way to achieve that could be via a radial filter on the wasp or a BG filter to darken ever so little those green leaves. I would experiment with that.
What a beautiful capture you shared here with us! The DOF and color palette are magical.
Great shot, Shirley. I also have never seen a Blue Wasp, at least I don’t think I have! I agree with toning down the highlights, however that might work for you. Also appreciate @Kris_Smith’ comment ( solid color layer in Ps - put a black mask and then paint with a white brush over the light area.) - so thanks for that Kris.
Shirley, I can really see the difference and how much the light addition made the wasp pop out of the leaves.
I don’t use PS much at all. In a case like this, LR seems to do a good job. Using the subject or background masks in LR is easy. One can work with those masks to achieve good results, such as what you just did.
What a nice re-do, Shirl. I’m going to be super picky, but if you lift the midtones just a hair, I think it would give it some pop. You can do this with a curves adjustment in Lr or with the Color Grading tool.
Hi Shirley,
wow. That looks amazing. I never saw a blue wasp before. The details are great and the wasp is nicely framed by the leaves.
Your re-edit works really well. Well done!
Very cool capture Shirley. Great look at this blue wasp with the head on view. That’s quite a face. The repost looks to be an improvement but I’d be happy with either one. Well done!
Very nice image, Shirley! I love the way you caught the irridescent color in the wasp and how the red edges of some of the leaves are sharply in focus.
