Bee scrum, first Macro post

[BenBotha]

Canon 7D
Canon macro 100m f2.8
F10
Flash
1/60

C and C's would be appreciated.

[John Robinson]

Hi Ben

Just back on line. A very sharp image to say the least , The front line of focus is much so that it is in my opinion spoilt by the rear areas where the the sharpnes has gone.
Iw
In my humble opinion I would try-
Rack out - have a smaller image so there fore more DOF. Your camera can stand it.
Do a tighter crop to eliminate most of the oof rear stuff. Go tight in on the heads. Just my persoanal view.#
Cheers
John

[Randy Stout]

Ben:

Nice job capturing the three heads in pretty much same plane of focus, not easy. I would consider toning down the brightness of the lower foreground just a bit to downplay the flash use.

I am fine with comp as is, but do feel as John mentioned, that a very tight crop might work as well, if you have the IQ to spare.

Macro can be great fun. I just dabble from time to time, but it does open up a new 'world' to explore.

Cheers

Randy

[BenBotha]

Thanks for the suggestions, all appreciated. I still have a lot to learn.
Ben

[Jerry van Dijk]

HI Ben, I like the image as presented, but would add a little contrast/clarity to make it more crisp. It seems a little light to me, and I would have expected to see more of the details on the bees.

[Satish Ranadive]

Ben, I am not expert in macro. I like the image with beautiful sharp heads of bees.

Regards,
Satish.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like the shot, well focussed, I like the composition and I don't mind the limited DOF - it is what I would expect if you see what I mean. The body of the bees on the left and the heads of all three along with the upward pointing wing maintain my attention. I agree a tighter crop would also work. If you try curves and select the mid point and bring it down a little it improves contrast and the image does not appear to have been flashed quite so much.
A very good start Ben I am looking forward to your next post.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Ben and welcome to the Macro forum! Nice job of getting all the heads in your plane of focus! You already have a number of good suggestions to consider - to those I would add the suggestion that you use a diffuser on your flash to soften the light. I think you will find that it makes a big difference in your macro photos and would put strong images like this one over the top. I hope to see more of your work here in Macro!

[BenBotha]

Thanks again for the suggestions, the diffuser is in the making. All comments appreciated.
Ben