Help Me !

[I'm Nisa]

Canon EOS 1000D
f/5.6
1/4000sec
ISO-1600
300mm

I feel like there is something wrong or not good enough.
Give me your comment. Thanks !

[ishafizan]

- 1/4000s is overkill. subject is not even moving. could lower the iso too
- viewers will look at the most interesting ... and in this case the yellow thingies in the middle. adjust focus
- may adjust the aperture to f.8 or smaller, larger dof and get the petals into focus

good lighting

[I'm Nisa]

Originally Posted by ishafizan

- 1/4000s is overkill. subject is not even moving. could lower the iso too
- viewers will look at the most interesting ... and in this case the yellow thingies in the middle. adjust focus
- may adjust the aperture to f.8 or smaller, larger dof and get the petals into focus

good lighting

Thank you so much. I'll try to improve. It is really helpful comment.

[chicagojohn]

Originally Posted by ishafizan

- 1/4000s is overkill. subject is not even moving. could lower the iso too
- viewers will look at the most interesting ... and in this case the yellow thingies in the middle. adjust focus
- may adjust the aperture to f.8 or smaller, larger dof and get the petals into focus

good lighting

I agree with this comment. Try experimenting with smaller aperture to get a little more depth of field to use in sharpening the focus of the subject.

But overall, nice composition! Rule of thirds, color, great subject.

When you are shooting at 300mm, you either have to use a tripod or very fast shutter speed, maybe 1/500 but not necessarily 1/4000 as you did here, because camera shake becomes seriously magnified. So a tripod would give you more freedom there.

Thanks for sharing your image. I like it.

[RLucas]

I am not too versed on macros/close ups. Well, anything for that matter, but I do Agree with John regarding the composition. I quite like it.
The thing for me is the focus and the over exposure on the petals.
With the advice already given, I would add to set your meter to spot, and meter off the petals. I would adjust my exposure just enough to where the petals were overexposed just about 1 stop. That way you can maintain some detail in the petals, instead of just white blobs.
I love the creamy background too!

[dvtldav]

The thing I have learned with close up & macro shots, it is better to focus manually this way you don't have to worry about focusing and recomposing to get the subject where you want it in the frame.

Dave

[chicagojohn]

Originally Posted by dvtldav

The thing I have learned with close up & macro shots, it is better to focus manually this way you don't have to worry about focusing and recomposing to get the subject where you want it in the frame.

Dave

And to add to that, Dave, you know how we sometimes bracket for exposure? Well, because I have bad eyes and am never sure my diopter adjustment is exactly right, and because digital doesn't have a cost penalty, I ofter bracket what I think is the right manual focus by moving the focus adjustment a few little turns closer and then a few a little further away. That way, I have more options to sort through later.

[I'm Nisa]

How about this ? Can you guys give some comment too. Thank you so much !

[chicagojohn]

Originally Posted by I'm Nisa

How about this ? Can you guys give some comment too. Thank you so much !

The sharpness looks better to me. The white petals are "blown out" which means that the sensors in that area are completely full so that there is no differentiation within each petal as to variation in luminance -- they are all just pure white.

There is always something that can be improved. You don't say what your EXIF data were for this shot, but if your camera supports RAW mode (I forgot which camera you are using), then often there is a lot of "head room" in RAW which might allow you to alter the exposure in processing to get a little detail in the petals.

If you would share what you changed, it would help folks to see how it affected the result.