butterfly

Hi Sindy! You're off to a good start. One thing you can do to help people who want to comment is to include your camera data in your post - at least camera make, aperture and shutter speed. That way, you can get tips and advice on the technical bits too.

You've focused nicely on the critter's head. The rest is a little out of focus, which is a typical difficulty with silly butterflies who want to keep their wings open. Increasing depth of field would help there (here your camera data would be useful). The image is also a little dark, though there's no loss of image data because of it I think; you can get more light with the exposure value setting, or in post-processing.

The critter is placed out of the centre, which I like. The upper plant being cut off is perfectly fine, because it's in the background. The plant in the foreground may be a little distracting, but it doesn't really bother me too much either; you can try to find a better angle, but the critter may not hang around waiting... Besides, I like the pattern and colour of that plant.

So keep those images coming; there are lots of people here to help you and answer your questions. And do comment on other people's images too, it's another great way to learn

Sindy:
Welcome to NPN and macro.
The comp with the off center BF and POV are good. The BG looks okay. The image is slight dark and the BF is slightly soft. Would be nice to know the EXIF and whether a tripod was used so we can suggest whether the softness is due to movement or slow shutter speed etc.

Keep shotting and posting.

Hi,

thanks for the comments!
Ok, here some data:
Exposure 1/250 sec at f/2.8
ISO 100
Focal length 45mm
Model Nikon D2X
No cropping

I think too that it is a bit too dark. But as I add light the butterfly didn't look right, I don't know why.

Thanks again


Sindy

Here those camera techs come in handy. You can increase the f number, which will increase your DOF; but don't let the shutter speed go too low or you'll get camera shake (unless you use a tripod). Another way to increase DOF is to back away a little from the subject; some cropping later isn't bad.

Do you mean that you tried adding light in post-processing? In that case, was the original image taken in jpg or raw? It's better to always shoot in raw, because it makes post-processing easier (that is, you can tweak the image more without making it look funny).

Hi Katja,
I do shoot in raw and I did add some light in lightroom, but it didn't look good on the wings of the butterfly. I didn't use a tripod, but I should do it in the future.
Thanks for the hint with the aperature priority to increase the DOF- I am wondering indeed how to do that- I will definitely try that out.

I am really grateful for your help

Sindy