I'm Back Seeking Your opinion!

[Dr_Jimmy]

Hi there,

I have finally managed to get out and about in the Garden, as it looks more like a Jungle than a Garden at present much to my dislike.

And found a very brightly colored Flying Insect on a Sage Leaf, and it was mating.

So while they were locked together I grabbed a couple of Shots.

ID of Insect not found as of yet, so if anyone can help.

These were done using:

Tripod
Focus Rail
Remote Release
Nikon D70s
Idiot Photographer

So can some one please critically comment on my images, so that I can slowly improve.

[pressld2]

Welcome back Mr Jim!

I'm no expert but my guess is that what you have there is a species of sawfly, probably Arge pagana.

As for photo critique, you've got good exposure and I like the composition in both shots. The only thing that's let you down slightly is focus. I think in the first one you have focused slightly in front of the subject as the leaf at the bottom of the frame looks good as does the insects front leg, but the head is slightly soft. The second picture is better but I think both of them could benefit from a bit more depth of field. What aperture did you use?

Dave P.

[Dr_Jimmy]

This is starting to get me down, every image I ever take is slightly soft, out of focus.

I have tried everything I can to get it right, looks like it's time to sell the lens and forget about Marco Photography.

Anyway:

First Image is Taken at 1/4 Sec F11

Second image is taken at 1/25 Sec at F11

I spent half an hour with this Insect and ended up with two decent images and even them aint right, bug stayed still.... wind was not being kind

Lighting changed per image, from very bright sun to heavy cloud both extremes.

Manfrotto Tripod struggled due to the location of the bug

Hand holding was not an option I can not hand hold a single image for macro work, just not steady enough.

[glsammy]

When I'm taking Macro shots, I rarely go above F16, unless the subject is parallel to me. Neither of these shots are, so your subject is bound to be low on DOF. Try using flash. Flash often works wonders for macro work, even the built in flash on my 20D works very well. This will allow you to use a faster shutter speed, even hand hold more often if necessary.

This shot was taken using flash, ring flash admittedly, but it makes the point. I was able to use 1/250sec shutter, with F16.0. This was with the Sigma 150mm macro.



This one was with the built in flash, on a bright sunny day: 1/100sec. shutter, F16.0. ISO 400.

[Fourwings]

What ISO setting are you using?
I would say that looking at the settings you have posted your shutter speeds were far too low to get that crisp pin-sharp image.

Macro work is always a matter of compromise between getting a decent shutter speed and a reasonable DOF.
Using a higher ISO setting will certainly make it alot easier to achieve that balance, I dont know about Nikon cameras but I use both a Canon EOS 20D & EOS 400D for macro work and always have them set to ISO 400, its noise free and it gets you some excellent shutter speeds.

It also has to be said that the initial image taken by nearly all DSLR's is very slightly soft, they usually require a little sharpening on a PC, it is possible to set the camera to sharpen the image as it takes it but I would not recommend you go down this route as there is nothing you can do to alter this afterwards, whereas if you sharpen in an image editing program you can always delete and re-do it as many times as you like to achieve that desired result.

[glsammy]

Steves points are good ones. I've had a go with one of your images, see what you think:



I balanced the levels, applied some sharpening and used neat image on the background. It obviously can't do anything for the DOF, but it's taken a lot of the softness away, you can see a lot more detail in the insect. By the way, I've uploaded the changed image under your name.
On the subject of ISO, I will often go down to ISO 100 or 200 when I'm using flash. I do this if the flash is too harsh, it's easier to change the ISO than to change the flash levels with my ringflash.

[Dr_Jimmy]

Hi there,

That image does look a lot better, I always thought sharpening the image in Photoshop was cheating?

I am unsure as to how much sharpening I can get away with.

So do I need to obtain something like a Ring Flash to even start to obtain some reasonable images, the images that have been posted on this thread are Pin Sharp, mine look rather poor considering.

But as a beginner to Macro Photography I am getting very disheartened by not getting at least one decent sharp one out hundreds of images taken.

I read an article saying that for Digital Photography the lens hood is a must especially for Macro Work, but if I fit the lens hood and use the on camera flash I get a black shadow half way down the image totally ruining it.

Not sure what the answer is.

[tessnell]

Originally Posted by Dr_Jimmy

This is starting to get me down, every image I ever take is slightly soft, out of focus.

Anyway:

First Image is Taken at 1/4 Sec F11

Second image is taken at 1/25 Sec at F11

I spent half an hour with this Insect and ended up with two decent images and even them aint right, bug stayed still.... wind was not being kind

Lighting changed per image, from very bright sun to heavy cloud both extremes.


Hand holding was not an option I can not hand hold a single image for macro work, just not steady enough.

For a sharp macro image of insects you need a much higher shutter speed- even if you are using a tripod, the insects need only to move slightly for the image to become soft. A minimum of 1/250s and f/16 is required. A ring flash is very good - the flash is usually faster than 1/1000s and the background exposure should be about 1/250s. Hand holding should be possible with flash.

With regard to sharpening in Photoshop- if your camera is digital, the digital process softens the image so some sharpening is essential .

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Dr_Jimmy

Hi there,

That image does look a lot better, I always thought sharpening the image in Photoshop was cheating?

I am unsure as to how much sharpening I can get away with.

So do I need to obtain something like a Ring Flash to even start to obtain some reasonable images, the images that have been posted on this thread are Pin Sharp, mine look rather poor considering.

But as a beginner to Macro Photography I am getting very disheartened by not getting at least one decent sharp one out hundreds of images taken.

I read an article saying that for Digital Photography the lens hood is a must especially for Macro Work, but if I fit the lens hood and use the on camera flash I get a black shadow half way down the image totally ruining it.

Not sure what the answer is.

You certainly don't have to have a ring flash, it's an excellent accessory, but many of my shots were taken with the built in flash, it works very well. A ring flash will provide a more even type of light and is very versatile, but it's by no means essential. As for sharpening, as Tessnell said, it's essential. Canon admit they make the image soft, to allow you to process it as far as you like yourself. No doubt Nikon do much the same.
Did you mention which lens you used?
Don't forget my lens is a dedicated macro lens, if your using a standard lens that comes with the camera, you'll struggle with macro, as it's not designed for true macro work.

As for amounts of sharpening, you have to take into consideration the size of the image. On your example I did 185%, Radius 2.0, Threshold 14. Always apply the sharpening as the very last job you do. I also used shadow/highlight, which I find is a very useful tool to help balance the image, this after I'd firstly checked the levels, which I adjusted slightly to match the data.

[Dr_Jimmy]

Hi glsammy,

I am using a dedicated macro, I have the Sigma 105mm, it's fitted to a Nikon D70s

If I push the Shutter Speed then the aperture really drops, and I get very poor images, I understand the rules that for anything hand held the shutter speed should be twice that of the lens so stop camera shake, but conditions don't always allow for this I find hence the use of the tripod, also being slightly disabled I am trouble crouching and moving in and out to focus.

Also I find even at 1:1 ratio I can not get any insects to fill the frame as so I always and up having to crop the image to get something that can be seen.

At the end of the day everything I do seems to be wrong, when it comes down to the Macro side of things.

Not sure what else to try except buying a suitable ring flash either new or second hand, tried to build one with white LED's but the image is terrible with it.