My First Butterfly Image

[Marina Scarr]

Hello Everyone:

Well I think I have only posted in this forum once or twice before as I don't have much experience with macro. Here's a butterfly image I took at the Butterfly Rainforest last Fall and finally had a chance to post process.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200L F4 & extension tube
F8, 1/200sec, ISO 200, manual mode
Flash but don't remember my settings
No tripod allowed so handheld, tiny crop

C & C would be most welcomed and much appreciated.

Marina Scarr
www.marinascarrphotography.com (http://www.marinascarrphotography.com)

[Dawn Miller]

This is a lovely shot. I appreciate the strong color contrast between insect and flower, the powerful diagonal of the insect from upper left to lower right. Good composition. The background is uneven and the darkness of the upper right is unfortunate because the butterfly's face and antennae are hidden. The beautiful wings are in excellent focus, leaving only the lowest tip a little soft which I think is fine. Can you brighten the background just a shade in the upper right and tone down the strong red behind the wings? I find the red stripe distracting. A great shot.

[jack williamson]

This is very good Marina. The BF is nicely exposed and sharp but gets lost a little in the dark BG. What bothers me the most is the oof red behind the BF.

Jack

[Julie Kenward]

The butterfly is very well done, Marina! If this were my image, I would consider knocking out all of the red except for the part he is perched on. I think the one blast of color might be stronger if there were actually less of it. Just a thought, though...

[Jerry van Dijk]

Very well done, Marina! Some good suggestions and strong points already mentioned. I would consider brightening the image a bit. The whites look like they can handle it and it will probably separate the butterfly better from the BG.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Marina - great to see you here in Macro! Your image is nicely composed and I like the soft, dim light look (like you might find in a rain forest). You already have a number of interesting suggestions to consider so you might experiment and see how you like them. I would wish that the antennas were visually separated more from the dark background - maybe a subtle brightening of the background in that area would do the trick. Overall, this is a strong image and a tweak here and there may make it even better. :S3: I hope to see more of your work in this forum!

[Marina Scarr]

Thank you very much for all of the good sound advice. I have a repost here so address some of the concerns. I have lightened up the green background and lowered the reds some. I have also lightened the butterfly as much as possible without clipping. I see how the butterfly stands out better now. I have a lot to learn and have already learned quite a bit just from this one post.

[Ken Childs]

Hi Marina, I liked the op but the repost looks much better! I do agree with Jules that the red, other than the flower the 'fly is perched on, is a bit overpowering and pulls attention away from the beautiful butterfly. It would take some work to replace it so maybe this is just something to file away for the next time you're in the field. You have to take the shot when a subject like this is available but once you've taken that initial capture, see if another angle might give a better BG. :S3:

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Marina, great improvement! I do like the reds in the OP better. Maybe you can use the burn tool to just subdue the reds that are directly behind the butterfly.

[Mat Bingham]

Repost is much better the butterfly stands out better.