Lynx Spider

[seankyh]

Some macro I took in my garden. Would like some tips on improving DOF. Already shooting at F10.

My setup: F10, 1/100s-1/200s, SB-600+stofen diffuser pointing upwards, Tamron 90mm

Post processing: PS levelling, Neat Image noise removal, PS Resize, PS USM.

Comments and criticism please. Still learning macro....


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Thanks for viewing. Let me know what you think.
Cheers, Sean.

 

[nyxx88]

Nice!! The color of the flower gives it vibrancy.

 

[espn]

Well, firstly, not a lot of people run 1280 x 1024 resolutions, so these pictures kinda go out of their (my) screen and not able to view the pictures at one go seems to give people the encouragement of 'don't view, just go away' feel.

You might want to consider the maximum of 800px on the longest side.

 

[tchuanye]

Of all the photos, I think the last one is the better one with the face quite sharp, but the mouth part is abit out of the DOF. Perhaps may want to keep camera parallel to subject face. The rest are abit soft.

Care to share why you chose F/10? If you wanted more DOF, you could have gone higher to achieve that.

Composition wise, very nice and smooth BG:thumbsup: .

 

[seankyh]

Well, firstly, not a lot of people run 1280 x 1024 resolutions, so these pictures kinda go out of their (my) screen and not able to view the pictures at one go seems to give people the encouragement of 'don't view, just go away' feel.

You might want to consider the maximum of 800px on the longest side.

Point taken and my apologies for cluttering your screen with eight legged freaks!
Thanks for the tip. I have resized them now.

 

[seankyh]

Of all the photos, I think the last one is the better one with the face quite sharp, but the mouth part is abit out of the DOF. Perhaps may want to keep camera parallel to subject face. The rest are abit soft.

Care to share why you chose F/10? If you wanted more DOF, you could have gone higher to achieve that.

Composition wise, very nice and smooth BG:thumbsup: .

I was a little apprehensive that anything more that F10 would underexpose the shot. My meter on some of the shots were already pretty underexposed. Still, I saw your lovely shots on the same species (Chinese New Year Reunion) and you were able to achieve a pretty good DOF with F8 only. Is it because you were physically further from the subject? I was at the minimum focal distance.

Thanks for your valuable feedback. BTW, I love your shots. Always never fails to amaze me.

 

[tchuanye]

I was a little apprehensive that anything more that F10 would underexpose the shot. My meter on some of the shots were already pretty underexposed. Still, I saw your lovely shots on the same species (Chinese New Year Reunion) and you were able to achieve a pretty good DOF with F8 only. Is it because you were physically further from the subject? I was at the minimum focal distance.

Thanks for your valuable feedback. BTW, I love your shots. Always never fails to amaze me.

You can't use my set up to compare with yours as mine is not a DSLR. The sensor is smaller for mine (hence more noise than DSLR) but the good thing is that for the same F number, I can achieve a higher DOF compared to a DSLR....don't ask me why....this is what I have read. And, my smallest apeture is only F8 ....wished for more....

I think you have a very good lens, and with more experimentation you will get it right. You are right that with higher apeture, the shot may be underexposed or the BG may become black. So you have to play around with your shutter speed and flash output. One technique is to use a slow shutter speed (with tripod) so that the BG is exposed enough to get a nice smooth BG, while the flash will illuminate the subject. Of course the tripod is a personal choice, and esp so if you can handhold it stably.

Personally, I don't use a tripod as it is quite hard to take esp moving subjects. The OIS on my camera of course does helps alot in allowing me to shoot at slower shutter speed but is not a cure all. So do experiment, and you will find a combi that suit your set up.

CY

 

[seankyh]

You can't use my set up to compare with yours as mine is not a DSLR. The sensor is smaller for mine (hence more noise than DSLR) but the good thing is that for the same F number, I can achieve a higher DOF compared to a DSLR....don't ask me why....this is what I have read. And, my smallest apeture is only F8 ....wished for more....

I think you have a very good lens, and with more experimentation you will get it right. You are right that with higher apeture, the shot may be underexposed or the BG may become black. So you have to play around with your shutter speed and flash output. One technique is to use a slow shutter speed (with tripod) so that the BG is exposed enough to get a nice smooth BG, while the flash will illuminate the subject. Of course the tripod is a personal choice, and esp so if you can handhold it stably.

Personally, I don't use a tripod as it is quite hard to take esp moving subjects. The OIS on my camera of course does helps alot in allowing me to shoot at slower shutter speed but is not a cure all. So do experiment, and you will find a combi that suit your set up.

CY

I guess its pretty different between a prosumer and a DSLR.
Yes. You've just put out all the variables on the table that make macro photography so challenging. Tripod? By the time the tripos is ready, insect fly away! I sometimes use monopod myself. Experimentation is key.

OIS? heh.. Nikonians are waiting for the Nikkor 105mm VR coming out this year.

 

[espn]

Point taken and my apologies for cluttering your screen with eight legged freaks!
Thanks for the tip. I have resized them now.

It's ok, the large images were impressive, but when I need to scroll left/right to view a shot, appetite loss liao... just like asking me to run SOC/2.4 before dinner/lunch :bsmilie:

 

[seankyh]

It's ok, the large images were impressive, but when I need to scroll left/right to view a shot, appetite loss liao... just like asking me to run SOC/2.4 before dinner/lunch :bsmilie:

Thanks. What is SOC/2.4? Sounds like an operating system.