Common Rose

[subhrashis]

One from today morning...
Had some trouble with the red spots, they were getting clipped. I had to underexpose after 100% recovery, and then boost using selective colors. Is there a better way?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/5160886742_6d30c50a01_b.jpg

D5000 70-300 VR 1/640s @f/5.6, 300 mm, Iso 400 (-1/3 on matrix, not specifically set for this, leftover form earlier :( )

[Jay Sheinfield]

hi Subhrashis,

Love the BF, great colors and BG. I would crop about 40%-50% of the left to a more square or maybe vertical crop and zoom in a bit on this guy. This BF wants all the attention he can get! Also maybe try and open up the black in the still wings and body a bit.

A flash might have helped the clipping reds.............my experience with Nikons and reds is similar. With a hot sun its tough to work around brights against blacks. Or, if you could have shielded the BF by your own shade, that may have helped. Other folks should have some better ideas for you.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Subhrashis. This is a beautiful swallowtail! I don't mind the blur in the forewings at it gives a sense of motion to the butterfly. I like the pano crop, but a tighter crop, as suggested by Jay, would also work well as an alternative. I would be tempted to smooth out the background just a little more. Regarding the reds - If you are shooting RAW and using Photoshop, you can click on the HSL/Grayscale icon in ACR and then reduce the luminance (and/or saturation) of the reds, as needed, as you are converting the RAW file. You also might want to read through the threads entitled REDuction 1 and REDuction 2 in the Tutorials and educational Resources forum. Hope this helps. :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Subhrashis,
Great advice on the crop and reds given above! I too don't mind the wing blur here.....these BF never sem to sit still....especially in the sun!!! The flash recommendation is a good one.....it will also bring out some of the details in the blacks....I still often find I have to pull back on the reds.....selective color/color balance/ or Hue saturation as mentioned above....all will work. Canon has the same problem with reds......so this is something you wil have to work on in most cases. Doing the recommended crop suggested above will take this image to another level....as always in PS.....100 ways to get there and your work looks pretty good!

[subhrashis]

Thanks Jay, Steve and Roman for all the great advice! I will try out the alternate crop.

[Ken Childs]

Hi Subbu,
This is one fantastic looking butterfly! The red on black is a great color combo. Jay, Steve and Roman have given some great suggestions and I agree that a tighter crop would be the way to go. The butterfly is the star of this show and it should take up more of the canvas! :)

[Anita Bower]

Lovely butterfly and photo. To the above suggestions I would add that I would like to see the butterfly and perhaps the whole image, lightened up some. Nice work.