# Painted Lady Butterflies **URL:** \ **Category:** Image Critiques\ **Tags:** macro-close-up\ **Created:** [October 10, 2026, 8:05am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/painted-lady-butterflies/52536 "2026-10-10T08:05:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Allen\_Sparks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_sparks/32/63507_2.png) [@Allen\_Sparks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Sparks)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 8:05am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/painted-lady-butterflies/52536/1 "2026-10-10T08:05:15Z")
![Original - Painted Lady Butterfly 11.jpg](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/6/2/62f330f7edaaf66f56e5a2455b5c7fe5dcfaab5d.jpeg) ![Additional image 1](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/f/9/f97f1da221d06d1f4113bb818e7f43b8150999d6.jpeg) ![Additional image 2](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/8/4/84cd160984bcfe808e72893402223bd7fc886604.jpeg) ![Additional image 3](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/6/f/6f727773cb06714e5638e2b78108c75064dfa434.jpeg) ![Additional image 4](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/7/1/71dbd8b459b886184516e05439fe89863096aa09.jpeg) **Critique Style:** Standard The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below. **Feedback Focus:** Artistic + Technical ### About This Image I went to a local garden yesterday to look for butterflies. I decided to try pre-shooting with my R7 for flying butterflies taking off from a flower. I found quite a few Painted Ladies on the lantana. ### Feedback Requested Any comments appreciated. Cropping? ### Technical Details Camera: Canon EOS R7 Lens: EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM +1.4x Shutter speed: 1/4000s Aperture: f/16 ISO: 4000 ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Zablotny](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/jim_zablotny/32/3919_2.png) [@Jim\_Zablotny](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Jim_Zablotny)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 11:18am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/painted-lady-butterflies/52536/2 "2026-10-10T11:18:57Z")
They are all very good action shots and like that you left the flowers in the frame for context. The crops look OK and there’s plenty of room around each subject so you can tweak the crops if so desired. For the first image, I would certainly try to lighten up the BG and you could also try a vertical comp by cropping off the LH side if so desired. Also, you could go BW with the first image leaving the dark BG as is too. The patterns on the wings have a lot to offer regarding BW photography. Exposure and sharpness are excellent in all the photos. Nice series…Jim ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Fach](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/bill_fach/32/78290_2.png) [@Bill\_Fach](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Bill_Fach)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 12:43pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/painted-lady-butterflies/52536/3 "2026-10-10T12:43:54Z")
Allen: Terrific series. Hard for me to pick a favorite but if pressed I might go with 3 and 4. Like @Jim_Zablotny I would be tempted to crop some from the left on #1. Was #1 flashed or was the BG just shaded? With it being so different from the others it piqued my curiosity. On a delightful scale this rates a 10. \>=))\> ---
**Author:** ![Allen\_Sparks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_sparks/32/63507_2.png) [@Allen\_Sparks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Sparks)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/painted-lady-butterflies/52536/4 "2026-10-10T12:57:12Z")
@Bill_Fach @Jim_Zablotny Thank you for the comments.! No flash was used on these. I used pre-capture mode at 15 frames a second. ---
**Author:** ![Huw\_Thomas](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/huw_thomas/32/87850_2.png) [@Huw\_Thomas](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Huw_Thomas)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/painted-lady-butterflies/52536/5 "2026-10-10T14:56:38Z")
@Allen_Sparks Very nice series - how did you find the precapture - was it easy to use? I have it on my A7v The additional image3 is my favourite. Regards Huw ---
**Author:** ![Allen\_Sparks](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/allen_sparks/32/63507_2.png) [@Allen\_Sparks](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Allen_Sparks)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/painted-lady-butterflies/52536/6 "2026-10-10T15:44:14Z")
Thanks Huw. The pre-capture was easy to use in the field when initially taking the photos. Just hold the shutter button halfway down and it pre buffers for half a second. Then just press the shutter all the way down when the butterfly takes off. I use back button focus. Think I’ll try 30 frames a second next time. Unfortunately extracting the images on my canon R7 is difficult since they are stored in separate bundles each time pre-capture is used. But I imagine you shouldn’t have those headaches with your camera body. Does your pre-capture store images in RAW? ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_Plank](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/dennis_plank/32/27033_2.png) [@Dennis\_Plank](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Dennis_Plank)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/painted-lady-butterflies/52536/7 "2026-10-10T20:16:25Z")
Additional image 2 is my favorite of the batch, Allen. The main image is probably my least favorite since the butterfly seems to have turned slightly away and the eye isn’t quite as apparent. The technique seems to have worked very well in this application.