Anything , I was trying to get a good focus on the whole flower and the rain drops.
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D3400
55mm
1/100
f/36
ISO 400
Converted to black and white and adjusted blacks and whites to make darker BG. Sharpened
This is a lovely capture, Vanessa. I like the strong contrast and how the daisy comes at an angle. However, since you’ve asked about how to get good focus on the entire flower, I was wondering if you had tried different head on shots in order to be more parallel with the flower? This might have give you a better shot at getting the whole daisy in focus. Also, love the many water droplets.
Thanks for looking @linda_mellor! So, I guess you’re saying that’s the only way to get a whole flower in focus is by taking it from above /head on? That is kind of what I’m finding, especially lately with doing Queen Anne’s Lace. It seems so boring that way. I guess I could do it from underneath! Which I have a few like that! Thanks!
The other way to get the whole flower, at least from my limited experience, is to do some focus stacking. Did you get a chance to watch @Mark_Seaver’s focus stacking webinar this afternoon? If not, it should be posted, perhaps by tomorrow. @Mark_Seaver is the king of stacking!
No I didn’t get to see it yet. But I did register to see it later. I’m not sure if I have the equipment to do it, but I still want to see how to do and what it’s all about because so many here talk about doing it!
I love this image, Vanessa. I agree with Linda about shooting head-on, but I understand what you mean about preferring a different angle. I often struggle with getting an entire flower in focus with this type of shot too. Of course, a smaller aperture may help. And, depending on the light, that may require a slower shutter speed. And that may require a tripod. Or a higher ISO. So there’s a lot to consider. Anyway, focus stacking is another way to go, and I plan to watch Mark Seaver’s webinar too.
I still think this is a fine image, though. I love the angle, and as Linda said, the contrast is very effective. Nice shot!
No special equipment needed for focus stacking, Vanessa! You’ll enjoy the webinar. I plan on watching the recording too, as I couldn’t make the live session.
Vanessa, this side view fits well with how you’ve positioned the flower in the frame. While there’s a touch of softness in the petals and water drops on the far side, the view still works well. Depth-of-field (dof) is ALWAYS a challenge in close-up/macro work. Some folks like how shallow dof works, others (like me) are always pushing for more detail. There’s value in both approaches. My one thought here is that the view might look better with the flower a bit lower and to the right in the frame (think of the flower’s axis on or even slightly below the frame diagonal. Where you’ve got the flower now seems to ask for seeing it’s stem better.
Hi @Mark_Ali, thanks for your inputs, glad you like it overall. f/36 was the smallest aperture my camera let me do, unfortunately. I’m interested to find out about exactly what focus stacking is!
