Easy times - update 1

I like the flower she is on and the way she landed with this photo.

Specific Feedback Requested

The flower is vertical but would a square crop be better there, mostly removing some of the bottom. I have been thinking of letting go my 90D and get another full frame maybe the RP. There are times I wish I had a second one. This one was cropped a bit already so who knows.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Canon 6D ii 180 Macro using a diffused flash. ISO 1000 1/800 F/14.

Nice work Dean! Of the bee images you have posted recently I like this the best. They’re all good, but this shows of the bee best I think. It’s brightly lit and separated against a dark neutral background making it stand out much more. Good sharpness and colors as well.

In a way I like the portrait oriented crop here (it feels a bit more dynamic), but you are right in that the bright pink flower in the bottom of the frame is a bit distracting, pulling the eye away from the main flower and bee. Perhaps try a tighter crop or darken/desaturate the flower at the bottom to reduce its impact

Dean, this is a nice look at the bee. I love his position, and how he stands out so nicely. To me, the whole image appears just a bit bright, so I’m wondering if just pulling back the exposure a little would help out on the distractions mentioned? Just a thought. Excellent capture.

Thanks @Shirley_Freeman and @Ingemar_Holmkvist . I went with a square crop to remove the pink OOF flower on the bottom. I slightly pulled back on the over all exposure which darken the bee a little more than I wanted. So I used the adjustment brush a bit on the bee too undo that and then another adjustment brush in LRC only on the flowers. Not sure about the crop, it is not impossible to just remove the OOF pink in the first show using Photoshop. Is the crop ok

Dean, I like what you did. I wonder now if a tiny bit of vignette would be helpful with the tiny distractions at the bottom and left edges? Just a thought. The bee is really standing out nicely now, and not competing with the flowers. Even the background is more supportive, in my opinion. Nice!

Dean, the look at the bee and it’s perch is excellent. I prefer the extra dynamic feeling in viewing the original frame. I agree with Ingemar that desaturating and burning-in the oof flower at the bottom would help, along with burning-in that long white leaf is likely to let the bee stand out even more. I’m thoroughly enjoying all the fuzz in the bee and the flower’s petals.