Butterfly very close up

[Nancy Bell]

I have been inspired by all the insect photos posted lately and wanted to give it a try. Wow...it is hard! I am not sure what is the best crop for this image. Should I include the long antennae although it is OOF? Should I crop in more and concentrate on the front end of the butterfly and that interesting eye? All suggestions much appreciated.

BTW, what kind of butterfly is this? I need to get an ID book.

Canon 7D, Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS, 36mm extension ring, tripod
1/640, f6.3, ISO 400

[Bob Miller]

Nancy...You did a super job getting this close and keeping what needs to be in focus nice and sharp....How did you get him to stay still this close? The crop looks good to me!.....not sure about oof antennae....I'm thinking i would leave it!

[Jeff Parker]

I wouldn't crop it. In fact I would like it if there was some more room, it's a little too close for me.

[Desmond Chan]

Should I include the long antennae although it is OOF?

I think it should be there.

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Beautiful close-up with lovely details and sharpness. You've chosen a nice eye-level perspective to shoot which is really working good here.
Regarding the antenna, I too feel that it should be included as it is done here.

[Steve Maxson]

I like the eye-level view and the sharpness around the eye and face, Nancy. I, too, would leave the antenna as presented. Looks like your butterfly is a fritillary. There are a number of species so a good reference book will be helpful.

[Allen Sparks]

As others have said, very nice as presented...love that eye and other details.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you all for your comments. The OOF antennae stays :). And I do have room to add even more space so it does not look so tight. Bob, at first I tried following the butterflies around but they are just too jumpy. So I just sat in one place and waited for it to get close to me and then I fired away! I had lots of deleted images.

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Works for me! Sharp eye and head. If possible I would like to see a bit more space at right and less on left, without the BG in upper left corner

[Ken Childs]

Nancy, it's a species of Fritillary but I can't tell what species because we're in too close. I recommended the Kaufman Field Guide if you're looking for a good book.

I like this as is but would be interested to see the full shot to know what other possibilities for rotation or cropping might be available. The eye is just a bit too centered so maybe another option would look even better.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Nancy,
Another vote for the antenna staying and just a hint more room in front.....even for me! I think you did an excellent job and the sharpness is where it needs to be. Very nicely done!

[Nancy Bell]

OMG...I was so concerned with the OOF antennae that I did not notice the eye ended up being smack in the middle of the image like a bulls eye. A compositional no-no :(. Here is the uncropped version. Any suggestions would be viewed favorably :).

[Ken Childs]

Photography doesn't have any rules. They're just guidelines. :)

I tried a few different rotations and crops and kept coming back to something similar to your OP.