Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
I was shooting some butterflies and a dragonfly and then this fly landed on the same group of flowers so I had to get him too!
Any critique is appreciated.
Nikon D3400, ISO 400, 1/1250, f6.3, 300mm (450 equivalent) cropped
A fuzzy tachinid fly caught my eye and this photo has some interesting features. The comp is bright and the BG looks good. For insects at rest, use an aperture between f8 and f16 for better DOF. The head and abdomen are sharp, but the wings are out of the plane of focus. The highlights on the flowers can be tweaked down too. Bright sunny conditions can do that to brighter areas in the frame. One suggestion for you is to invest in some extension tubes which will enable you to focus closer on large insects. Coupled with your 300mm, it will enable you to get closer to your subjects. Well done…Jim
Vanessa, this was a nice find, and considering the bright light I think you did well. @Jim_Zablotny gave some good advice. Getting closer on subjects like this helps. The extension tubes would help and they are relatively cheap. I also try to use my body to help shadow the subject if they tolerate that without scaring them away. Nice details where they must be.
Thank you @Jim_Zablotny and @Shirley_Freeman for your feedback. The extension tube sounds like something I might want to get when I invest in a new camera. The one I have sometimes acts like it’s going to die! So I’d be sad to get something to work with it if it doesn’t work for too much longer! I’m always trying to focus on the eyes and I like having a blurred background. When I make the aperture too small it seems to bring everything too much in focus, but I’ll have to experiment more with your suggestions. Thanks!
There are few brands of extension tubes that have the electrical connections that allows the camera body to communicate with the lens. For Nikon equipment, I use an ftz adapter with my mirrorless and it enables me to use my non-Z lenses and extension tubes on a mirrorless camera. So you do not have to sell all of your standard Nikon glass to go mirrorless. Macro photography does not require a lot of expensive equipment and modification of focusing distances with extension tubes can be done very easily with extension tubes. And its a little easier on the wallet too…Jim
