The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I haven’t been shooting a lot for one thing and another, but I spied this tiny new grasshopper on the Black-eyed Susans in my front yard. I’ve shot them before in this little garden and just love how cute they are. This one is less than 2 cm long and very shy so I got in there with the camera and then out pretty quick.
Specific Feedback
In retrospect I might have closed down the lens a bit more, but I the leaves are close and I didn’t want a distracting background so I compromised. Also dialed the flash back up a bit to -.3 on the TTL meter. Just for a bit of fill - does it show??
Technical Details
Handheld w/Godox flash & Magmod diffuser
Lr for a bit of a crop and some masking to improve tonalities & contrast. Nothing too drastic and no distraction removal or anything which was nice.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
OK, another showoff! And with justification – this little guy is cute and very well presented! It has the same characteristics of a chubby baby.
The lighting is excellent – no hint of flash with the diffuser being big this close to the subject. The OOF near edges of the leaf could have been distracting but you managed to conceal them very well. I might lighten the darker area at the base. The BG is wonderful.
Get back out with the camera – I’ve been missing your work/play/images!
Delightful! Hope the birds don’t find him… Fill flash is perfect , and BG very complimentary . A greater DOF might have rendered that front leg a bit more in focus, but fine as is.
Nice catch!
Very nice, but I wish the all the edges of the grasshopper are sharp. Edges are soft on the abdomen and portions of the head. I would go with at least f8 to f16 for a subject at this size. Other than that, the eye and leg are sharp and at the regular viewing size, the photo looks pretty good. Comp and BG are fine…Jim
Thanks @Diane_Miller, @SandyR-B & @Jim_Zablotny - glad it doesn’t look “flashed” - I’m still getting the hang of using it even though I’m an old chick. In future I’ll probably stop down more. Was in a bit of a hurry and so didn’t pay enough attention as I did the flash power itself. It’s a cutie though and I hope it grows up.
Very nice, Kris. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one quite this young-they always seem to appear out of nowhere all full grown. As others have noted, the flash worked very well. I could see a bit more depth of field to get the body reasonably sharp. The legs on things like this are always problematic.
Thanks @Dennis_Plank - I think this is the smallest one I’ve seen, too. Probably they hide a lot at this stage. Yeah, DOF is lacking here. If I get another chance with this one or another, I’ll close the lens down a bit.
Thanks @Stephen_Stanton - I think it was scared to death and so still, but then it walked down a leaf into a more safe position. I tried not to freak it out too much. The flash usually worries me because it is so bright and insect eyes so complex. But I think it’s fine. Glad the softness and shallow DOF works for you.
Thanks @Shirley_Freeman - they are so cute at this stage and since they can’t fly yet, they can’t fling themselves at my face and scare the hell out of me!
Thanks @Allen_Sparks - I was fortunate it was on the edge of a leaf and more-or-less lined up with that edge so it makes for a nice composition. The greens are so lovely this time of year. More rain basically every day for the next week so they won’t fade anytime soon!
Thanks @Bill_Fach - funny about that eye, the pattern makes it hard to tell if it really is in focus so I relied on focus peaking to mark it for me and of course I had a few frames with it blurred.
. Really good focus on the eye which makes the image for me. Really well done. >=))>