Bee

[VeryBeginner]

Hey all,

Here is a photo a took a couple of weeks ago:



Camera Canon EOS 300D Digital
Exposure 1/4000 sec
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 55 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV
Flash No Flash

Post-producing: cropping to get rid of dead space on the right, a little bit of sharpening around the bee's head, brightening to compensate for underexposure and slightly increasing image saturation.

In retrospect I dont think it is very good, the focus is on the leaves in front of the bee and there is not enough magnification. Compositionally though, is it good? I have seen many macro images which dont necessarily comply with the rule of thirds. I have tried to do some here with some cropping but would it be better with the insect more central?

Also, I don't have a true macro lens. This was taken using a 15-55mm zoom lens. I also have a 75-300mm zoom lens. In general which of these two would be best for taking 'macro' images. I have only just started out and dont particularly want to forge out the $1000 plus required to get a true small focal length high magnification macro lens.

Any general comments will also be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[NgaiHill]

I think you've done a good job with the bee. They are quite little things and its not easy getting them nice and sharp. For composition, you could've probably cropped all the way into just the flower and the bee, rule of thirds is good but that pale stalk to the right is a little distracting.
What sort of focusing did you use? I use single spot AF for these wee girls, easier to track them. Also try setting your aperture about f10-16, you get a better DOF with some room for error if you focus spot is a little off.
Your 15-55mm lens should be fine, I use an 18-55mm kit lens with good results, if photographing still macros i use a 10x macro filter as well. This shot was taken with the 18-55mm, I set the Av at f10 and let the camera pick the shutter speed & ISO, focal length was 47mm and I was about a foot away from the bee. PP was simply levels & saturation and cropping. Probably took of about half of the original photo to get this close.



Hope this helps

[VeryBeginner]

Thanks NgaiHill, your comments have been very helpfull.

What sort of focusing did you use? I use single spot AF for these wee girls, easier to track them. Also try setting your aperture about f10-16, you get a better DOF with some room for error if you focus spot is a little off.

I used the AF, but I have heard of techniques such as manually setting the focus beyond the subject and moving back until the eyes are in sharp focus. Will play around with this next time I have a chance. With an aperture at f10-16 small I assume I would have to use a flash, which I did not for this shot. I have a speedlight but without a diffuser, so have been avoiding using it until I have purchased a diffuser.

Thanks for your comments.

[NgaiHill]

You're welcome
That manual focus technique sounds interesting, must try it sometime. Don't know if it would work too well for bees though, they move so fast, I know I just wouldn't be able to keep up!
As for using flash with an aperture of f10, I think it depends on the available light. I didn't use the flash on my shot, ISO was 200 & shutter speed 1/100, from memory it was a fairly sunny day & shots were taken mid afternoon.

[Thunder_o_b]

Welcome to the obsession of macro You do not need to spend $1,000 to get a very good lens. I use the Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro, you can see the results on these boards, it was $700. from B+H.. The 70mm is $500. and is a good lens Sigma 70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro AF Lens for Canon EOS 270101 B&H and the 50mm is even less, but for bees and such you really do not want to go that small.

The MP-E65 is $1,000. but you really don't want to start in macro with that lens. It is truly a very challenging lens to get the hang of. I love mine, but it drove me nuts the first couple of months that I had it.

You will find that by pre-focusing the lens and moving your body, you will focus faster than the auto can at the distances for macro.

As for flash, I use my flash rig almost 100% of the time for true macro shots. iso 100, f11-f14 at 1/250 sec, even on sunny days. This helps to eliminate subject failure (subject movement blur) And a diffuser to soften the light.

The game is a little different in true macro, the rule of thirds caries less weight, as the subject fills the picture.

[Thunder_o_b]

As an after thought, you can up the iso to say 400-800 if you want to have a stronger presents of ambient light, but on sunny days you will need to dial in the flash. I usually end up backing the flash down a stop or two.

[VeryBeginner]

Thanks Thunder, will take that into consideration, true macro is something I want to get into so will look into those lenses you suggested

[T.R.R]

Okay I thought I would offer my two cents on this. I' am like you, I love macro, but don't own the best equipment for it. I found a couple combination that work half way decent for me. I use an 18-55 with a macro attachment on it. I used that to capture the image below. Again this is cheap and kind of limiting on what it can do. If I want something a little more specialized, then I use macro tubes with my Prime 50. This offers a lot more options and still renders really clean images. Anyway I hope that offers you a couple more options.