White Softness

[Bee Emily]

Canon 10D
Canon 100-400mm lens
1/180
f4
210mm
ISO 400
handheld

I can't even believe that i actually took a shot of a flower with that lens:D

[Bruce Murden]

May as well keep on using that lens. When you don't need macro reproduction (1:1 or close), you get some great limited DOF with the long telephoto. The soft lighting here is great for the flower. I'd like to see it less bulls-eyed in the center of the frame to get it more dynamic. Keep using lenses for things you wouldn't normally expect to. You can get some interesting and great results.

[Chris Starbuck]

Bee,
I like the softness here with just the center of the flower sharp. Your exposure is good - very difficult to show detail in white flower petals, and you've done well. Bruce is right that placing it off-center would make the composition stronger. Also be careful about having the tip of a petal just touching or almost touching the edge of the frame; better to either give it some space or cut into it significantly. Using a tripod would help you with composing more precisely. As for using the 100-400 for closeups, I've used it with extension tubes, a 500D closeup lens and teleconverters to get to over 2x magnification. Image quality isn't as good as a dedicated macro lens at that extreme, and manual focus is much more difficult, but still usable.

[Julie Kenward]

Bruce and Chris have it covered! I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more detail in the shadows - not a lot...just a bit more so I can tell something is actually back there. Nice job on exposing the whites!

[Ed Vatza]

I agree with the above but just want to jump in with a suggestion. Have you ever considered adding something like the Canon 500D close-up lens? I have one that I have used at times with my 70-200 f/2.8 and even my 400mm f/5.6. I think it works well and don't hesitate to use it if I left my macro bag at home.

[Bee Emily]

Ed,
Thanks for the tip on the lens stuff. I am very new to all this photography stuff and can't really afford much in the way of equipment. I feel very lucky to have a "hand-me-down" 20d and 100-400mm lens.

[Ed Vatza]

Ed,
Thanks for the tip on the lens stuff. I am very new to all this photography stuff and can't really afford much in the way of equipment. I feel very lucky to have a "hand-me-down" 20d and 100-400mm lens.

Understood. Just so you understand, the 500D is more like a filter than a lens. It attaches to the front of a lens (like the 100-400) and helps to get closer close-ups. And depending on filter size, it costs about $100 -$150. You are certainly doing fine without it. I just thought it might be something you could find interesting.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Bee, agree with other posts about the bulls-eyed look. Nice soft lighting and for me I would like a little more DOF.