Flowers and Bugs get their closeup C+C welcome

Phaedin · May 6, 2013

I took these yesterday
All taken with A57 and 75-300mm
minor PP done in ACDSee

DSC05810 by mike_gold, on Flickr
Resting Bee - Uncropped shot

DSC05810_1 by mike_gold, on Flickr
Resting Bee - Cropped to try to make the image stronger and get rid of some of the distracting(?) background

DSC05815 by mike_gold, on Flickr
Flying Bee -no crop

DSC05809 by mike_gold, on Flickr
Fly - Loose crop - trying to put the fly at a thirds intersection point

DSC05809_1 by mike_gold, on Flickr
Fly - Tight Crop - also went a bit heavier on the contrast and colour saturation

Photographiend · May 6, 2013

Not bad for a noob. A lot of these shots are too dark. The Fly one is nice though and you seem to be good with the focus. May want to check out the Macro section to get inspired for the next time around.

Austin Greene · May 7, 2013

I'm going to come at this from the perspective of an experienced macro shooter/enthusiast. Also because I pity you, I know what its like to post macro images in the general section and see zilch feedback. Sadly, the macro sub-forum can actually be worse at times. Kudos to Photographiend for stepping up.

Lastly, if you are looking for feedback, limit your posts to two or three images, at most.

1. Not a very strong image. Poor subject isolation.
2. Better, but why post this crop directly after the first image? Theres a simple rule to much of photography, only show your best.
3. Not bad, don't see why you didn't crop this one.
4. Probably the best of the set. While not a true macro image in my opinion, you have a subject, and you have context. All of your other images are lacking in either these or basic composition.
5. Bleh. Tons of noise, and cropping has only revealed a lack of focus. Again, only post your best.

I'm not trying to be a self-righteous ass, I'm just being honest from the perspective of a fellow macro shooter. If your wanting to get some personal tips, or just want to check out some of my macro images for *cough* inspiration *cough*, here's a link. While I've since moved onto better rigs, several of those photos were taken with a 55-250, so you can surely do just as good with your telephoto.

One quick note, if your going to do anything, FOCUS ON THE EYES! Just like any good portrait, if your eyes arent in focus, your image is going to fall short of what it could be. Us macro shooters are lucky in that bugs usually have pretty neat eyes from the start, so work with it!

Lastly, in my opinion, if you really want to capture great macro images you need to approach them like you would street photography or portraits. Life is happening right before your eyes, in a world filled with so many incredible tiny creatures, all of which have their own personalities. Take some time to learn their ways, how they behave, their patterns, and then you'll be set to really nail down some images. Lastly, be passionate! Don't present them like you would an object, present them as living art!

Shameless plug for some of my favorite, more recent images. Maybe they'll help you out.

Mountain Beauty by TogaLive, on Flickr

The Wolf by TogaLive, on Flickr

What Lies Within by TogaLive, on Flickr

Oh and here is an example of an image taken with a 55-250mm last year. When in doubt, simply look for bigger subjects! Carpenter bees such as this one make excellent macro subjects. In reality they are about an inch long, but the viewer doesn't have to know that :lol: