The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Spider works. I was looking to practice with my 100mm Macro, and everyone was too fast for me. Luckily the spider that found a place between the patio and a tree trunk wasn’t moving much as he was busy building the web for his lunch. I played with multiple angles and shot the photograph handheld and without focus stacking.
Specific Feedback
Would love to get feedback on placing focus and sharpness of the details as well as composition.
Technical Details
Canon R5, 100mm macro ISO 2500, F4.5, 1/250 sec
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Quite striking and dramatic! Smooth background and focus where it should be for the most part. Without stacking or pushing your ISO too much higher, this is about what we have for DOF at this magnification. I love the slice of web, too. Orb weavers make such fabulous webs and I also really like watching them do it. Color looks good and the light is nice and even.
BTW - this is most probably a female Leucauge venusta sometimes called an Orchard Orb weaver and is quite common in the south eastern part of the states, but not as far south as most of Florida.
Very nice image! I love the angle and colour of the spider, and the blurred part of the web adds interest.
You might have gotten more DOF with a higher F-stop - for these types of images, about an F22 works well for me. (Depending if you want some blurring or not, both ways have their places) Experiment with your lens to see the sweet spot.
Fine work!
Very cool, Natalia. I really like what the depth of field did for the web. A bit more depth on the spider might have been nice, but getting too much more hand held might have been iffy. With in-camera image stabilization, it might work. Even a monopod can give you enough added stability with modern cameras to get the shutter speed down to ridiculously low levels if your subject isn’t moving. You don’t mention your shooting mode, but using a burst can be very helpful in this kind of situation. There’s usually one frame that stands out from the rest.
Thank you for telling me what spider it is. I never looked it up. I always try to learn more about the animals I photograph but in this case it was a totally new subject.
A very attractive shot with the clean BG. I agree with Sandy about a higher F-stop, or you could even use a larger ISO here and then remove any noise with software. But I’m entering the realm of personal choice, and the sliver of focus makes for an artistic view. I love the green and yellow.
Natalia: For me bug shots of almost any kind need a sharp head/eye and the rest can go OOF. The filaments of the web fade away nicely. My only suggestion would be to crop about 15-20% off the bottom so that the light area is a bit less prominent. Great to have you aboard Macro and looking forward to more. >=))>
Natalia, this is a good look at the Orchard Orbweaver, letting her stand out well from the background. I also like the high-key aspect. I’m with Bill in preferring views where the head and eye(s) are sharp. In this case that sharpness would include the thorax since it looks like you had the camera parallel to the spider. Your settings suggest that you were in the shade, which lets the details in the spider show up well, without dark shadows.
