The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
Our garden is a popular spot for hummingbirds and butterflies. Mexican sunflowers generate a lot of nectar and pollen for many species of insects and hummingbirds too. This monarch is pristine and recently emerged from its chrysalis. After tanking up on nectar, she moved on to her overwintering area in Mexico.
Feedback Requested
At the time, I wish that I would have, should have repositioned the lens for a vertical shot. I would have been able to come in a little closer to the subject. I am not a fan of generative fill which means that I did not take the time to set up for the shot! How do you like the comp? The vibrant flower does compete with the subject, but fits in with the color scheme.
Technical Details
Camera: Z9
Lens: 200mm f4D Micro
Focal length: 200mm
Shutter speed: 1/1600
Aperture: f16
ISO: 3200
Flash: -1.3ev off camera
Processing software: Lightroom Classic, Photoshop 2026
Major adjustments: Levels, Shadows & Highlights, Subject masking with + exposure, + Clarity, Generative Fill for top of frame, Crop for comp.Blending/stacking:
Other notes:
There is a nice colour harmony going on between the orange stamen and one petal and the orange of the Monarch
All very well captured.
If you want balance I guesss you either generatively increase a bit on the left, or take a little off the bottom stalk so the orange petal and orange of the monarch fit pleasingly on the diagonal?
Just thoughts … lovely sharp and colourful image with great BG. Great idea for off camera flash too
While a touch more canvas on the left would be nice, this is a gorgeous image of the monarch in perfect condition and the flower fits beautifully with the colors of the butterfly, Jim. If you don’t want to use generative fill, you could just add some blank canvas and grab sections of the background in the original image to fill it in. A soft edge on the clone tool should make it easy and overlapping them and picking from different areas keeps it from looking like you just picked a strip to clone.
Three things I love about this, Jim, the BG, the askew petal which adds character to the shot and - of course - the monarch herself, in such fine fettle. She might end up in Bill’s garden next Spring! (I’d suggest darkening the ULC a little, but that would be churlish as it’s such a good shot).
Jim, this is a lovely view of this Monarch in pristine conditions. She and the flower show excellent details and are well positioned in the frame. The background colors addsome extra warmth. I would suggest a slight burning-in of the white streak in the upper left corner, but that’s very minor.
We just had our latest batch of monarch caterpillars devour most of our milkweed and saw the last of the little munchers go off to chrysalis land today.
This is a beautiful shot and the perch is the perfect complement. In a perfect world for me there would be more room on the left than the right but you can fix that imbalance with a simple crop from the right. That placement makes my conventional brain happier . Back to you.>=))>
A beautiful image of a lovely butterfly. Mine came out this week and took off. So fun to watch the process. Since we are always learning be prepared to shoot a bit wider next year. Thanks for sharing.
. Back to you.>=))>