Please critique depth of field, lighting, and focus

[shaylamom]

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 14.4 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[Saralonde]

Is it a bug holding a piece of dead foliage? This has a very nice blurry background, but I'd like to see a little more of the bug in focus as that is the most interesting part of the shot. Perhaps shot from a slightly different angle you could have got more of his body in focus as well. Other than that, the focus on his face and the lighting are pretty good.
What kind of bug is it?

[Quo Fan]

DOF is good, and focus is nice. I would have cropped a little tighter on the bug. It is a little hard to tell exactly where you focused, I really can't see the eyes very well.

[shaylamom]

It's actually a dragonfly sitting on a dried out flower next to the water. I think my focus slid down more to the flower itself.

[Ron Lacey]

The dragonfly's tail is out of the DoF which doesn't work imho but you still need the dead plant he's on to be in sharp focus so you might consider stopping down to increase the DoF in the future with this sort of shot.

Ron

[k8et]

I think it works with the current focus pretty well, but I find the grey branch across the background really distracting. also the branch brightness/color is so similar to the rear of his body so he doesn't stand out as much as he could/should, in my opinion. For a powershot I think it's a really good shot!

[zenali]

Originally Posted by k8et

I think it works with the current focus pretty well, but I find the grey branch across the background really distracting. also the branch brightness/color is so similar to the rear of his body so he doesn't stand out as much as he could/should, in my opinion. For a powershot I think it's a really good shot!

I agree - the focus is good for a powershot, but the branch in the background is a worry. I find my eye being drawn away from the dragonfly.

I love the dried flower - fabulous detail there.

[shaylamom]

Thank you for all of the comments! I really wish I could have gotten a better angle away from the branch, but with where he was, there was no way around to the other side....