Bee photography is my favorite considering I was scared to death from them until I got inches away from them to photo. I sometimes sit and wait for the bee to position herself and this is an example of such a photo.
Specific Feedback Requested
I cropped from the right and top a bit and sometimes I wonder if I crop too much where the environment is not seen. This may not be a good example of that because I am getting much closer to the bees. Any other suggestions always welcome
Technical Details
R7 rf 100 f/2.8 1/400 iso 800 f/10 HH aperture priority. I learned from a bird photographer that using the ISO range in the camera is not a bad idea. So I have the range ISO from 100-3200 and set the ISO in the camera auto. I will see how that works.
Fantastic photo, Dean. Love all the detail in the bee. As for the crop, works for me. I can see the bee is located in a garden atmosphere. The OOF background sets the bee off very nicely. Also like your idea of working with the auto ISO, going to have to give that another go. Nicely done.
Dean, this is an excellent shot of this beautiful little bee. Wonderful details in the bee. Those red flowers are really a great perch for the bee. Both the bee and the BG stand out nicely from the BG. Exposure looks spot on, so the auto ISO worked well for you in this shot. As for the composition, it works, but I’m wondering if you were to crop a little off the right side, up to the spaghetti (not sure what the stringy stuff is called on the flower), on the right side of the right flower, if that would help keep the bee from feeling centered. I like the right flower there, so I wouldn’t want to lose too much of it. It helps balance the image nicely, as well as help those of us who aren’t familiar with the flower to see what it looks like before full bloom. It is a great shot as presented, in my opinion, but a slight crop might improve it even more. Worth a try.
Hi Dean: I don’t use auto ISO as it tends to lead to some over- or under-exposure sometimes. But it certainly has its advantages in a situation where the light is changing rapidly. I wouldn’t say this is a shot where the environment would be visible anyway, the bee and flower are the only subjects. I’d actually prefer to see the lower part of the bud section, so more space at the bottom. But the main subjects, bee and open flower, are beautifully captured.
I took a little more from the right side and it turned out that I had some room on the bottom. This flower is what is left from the feather duster flower. I thought about removing the spaghetti effect from the flower on the right but do not think it will help. Mike, I just started using auto ISO and the upper range of 3200 was too much. Post process removed it but detail is lost. Never had a problem with ISO 1600 so my range is now 100-1600. Most of what I see when I shoot is ISO 800 or lower. Still need to try it out more, before going back to a fixed ISO.
