Requst: Macro C&C

[FireRunner]

Long time lurker, recently registered. I know flowers are boring, but I'm working on my macro technique. Would appreciate any feedback.

Nikon D90 - Manual - Handheld - Shot outside with partly sunny weather.
1/400
F4.0
ISO 400
Nikkor 105mm 2.8G

Nikon D90 - Manual - Handheld - Shot outside with partly sunny weather.
1/400
F3.8
ISO 400
Nikkor 105mm 2.8G

Nikon D90 - Manual - Handheld - Shot outside with partly sunny weather.
1/400
F4.5
ISO 400
Nikkor 105mm 2.8G

 

[Overread36]

Hmm I'd like to know a little more info about these shots first:

1) What camera+lens+lighting+support setup did you use? Best advice is that which is directed toward what tools you have to use and thus the more we know about your gear the better we can advise.

2) What settings did you use - aperture, shutter speed and ISO are the important ones here, but so too is the shooting mode (eg did you use manual - a priority mode or maybe macro mode). Again the more info you give the better (note most cameras save an EXIF block within each photo which details the shooting settings - just go to the properties of the photo file on your computer and select the details tab and you should be able to see these details. If not your editing software should be able to show the shooting settings).


Finally flowers are not boring - they are far from boring; but if you, yourself, find them dull then move away and shoot something a little less dull Of course if you love shooting flowers then by all means keep shooting them and sharing the shots :mrgreen:

 

[FireRunner]

Hmm I'd like to know a little more info about these shots first:

1) What camera+lens+lighting+support setup did you use? Best advice is that which is directed toward what tools you have to use and thus the more we know about your gear the better we can advise.

2) What settings did you use - aperture, shutter speed and ISO are the important ones here, but so too is the shooting mode (eg did you use manual - a priority mode or maybe macro mode). Again the more info you give the better (note most cameras save an EXIF block within each photo which details the shooting settings - just go to the properties of the photo file on your computer and select the details tab and you should be able to see these details. If not your editing software should be able to show the shooting settings).


Finally flowers are not boring - they are far from boring; but if you, yourself, find them dull then move away and shoot something a little less dull Of course if you love shooting flowers then by all means keep shooting them and sharing the shots :mrgreen:

I added the photo information. I love macro photography of flowers, but I also know it's one of the more commonly posted subjects So, I know some will have "more flower posts" a bit boring. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Overread36]

Ahh thought so - and considering the type of shots your going for here, with a wider aperture and a more blurred background you might get some inspiration from mishele (she has a flickr account somewhere but I can't find it...)
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/general-gallery/244058-factor.html
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/general-gallery/243201-do-i-seduce-you.html

As for your shots the first thing that concerns me is the sharpness; they look a little soft in the details, softer than I'd expect from such settings since your shutter speed is plenty fast to freeze motion, unless there was strong wind at the time. I wonder if they are cropped from the original shots (but I don't think so) or if you have run much sharpening over them in editing. It's more a feeling I get with first two shots rather than the third and it might just be that the details are there and just a bit more hidden because of the smaller depth of field.

Another point is that whilst the light in all 3 is fairly soft and not poor, the first shot is probably overexposing and this is because yellow is an evil colour. If you are familiar with the use of the histogram (if not say so) then have a look at the RGB histogram channels either in the camera or in the editing software. There you should see that whilst the luminescence isn't overexposing, the red channel is most likely either very close to or is hitting the far right side and overexposing. This is a common problem with yellowy subjects and you can counter it by underexposing from the meter reading at the time of shooting (and with such a yellow and red subject this shouldn't have any problems at all). With more complex subjects with a wider range of colours and tones it can make the other areas appear a little underexposed when one balances for the red channel alone - selective brightening can help fix this and you can also use a "fake" HDR method to balance things out as well*



* ie processing a RAW photo of the scene twice - once normally and once for the red parts only (ie same settings, but moving the exposure slider to underexpose from what you captured) and then combining them either with software or by using a layer mask in editing.

 

[FireRunner]

Thanks for the feedback Overread. No post-editing was done. In terms of wind, it was around 5-10mph. The first shot took me about 10minutes and 20 tries because the flower was on a very long thin stem. My area here has "wind tunnels" so I'm accustomed to it

Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[alvarez57]

Flowers are NEVER boring! That's why I'm considering ($$) for the MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo. These pictures are taken with a Canon point-n-shoot (Power Shot SX100

)

I have a better camera now