Leaf Macro

[harsh.kataruka]

Hi guys,

I clicked this pic today by keeping the leaf on the lens and pointing towards the light to get it from behind the subject.
I kept aperture wide open, and hence the edges are not too sharp. Should i have kept a smaller aperture to get a larger part of the leaf in focus or does this work?

Also, i need a lil help with PP to even out the background light. I adjusted the levels, curves, and used the unsharp mask to make the leaf pop out and bump the colors a bit. Any other help with PP would also be appreciated.

@ Moderators : I was unsure whether to put it in processing critique or in this, but put it here since the processing critique description mentioned heavily processed photos. Hope i didnt do anythin wrong

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EXIF :

Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

Shot using the SUPER MACRO mode of powershot SX10 IS.

Thanks,

Harsh

[wulf]

I think I would have stopped down a notch or two further to increase the DoF a bit. I think there is a bit too much softness although the blurry bottom edge is fine.

Also, did you desatuarate the background? The grey is rather soulless and I wonder if some natural colour would work better?

Wulf

[harsh.kataruka]

Originally Posted by wulf

I think I would have stopped down a notch or two further to increase the DoF a bit. I think there is a bit too much softness although the blurry bottom edge is fine.

Also, did you desatuarate the background? The grey is rather soulless and I wonder if some natural colour would work better?

Wulf

By increasing DoF, do u mean bring f stop even further down? In my cam, this is the best i can do..

And, was clueless with the PP ( I suck at it ).. i just bumped up the color and saturation a bit... all help i can get is reqd.. Pls feel free to re-edit my pic if u want..

[wulf]

You increase DoF by stopping down to a narrower aperture (bigger number) - eg. from f/5.6 to f/8. However, your range of control may be limited by your camera.

Was the shot handheld or did you use a tripod or other stable platform to shoot from? Also was the leaf away from any breeze? At 1/25s handshake and subject motion could both be factors that pull away from sharpness.

Wulf

[harsh.kataruka]

This was handheld. As i explained, i'd kept the leaf on the lens itself. And there was no breeze to move the leaf, and i tried to remain as still as i could

My cam has range till f/8.0. I did try some pics with that setting but it's come out too soft. I'm posting it here for your comment. However, due to lack of tripod, the position etc would be slightly diff which could have led to the diff in sharpness.. this is without any PP.



EXIF :

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Exposure: 0.3
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 5 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[wulf]

The leaf was actually resting on the lens? I hadn't registered that. If it was a little further away, that would multiply the usable depth of field.

A tripod is very useful but not essential... if you can figure out some other way to keep the camera still. Anything solid nearby you can rest the camera on or at least brace yourself against?

What was the light source? Sun and sky?

Wulf

[harsh.kataruka]

Since the cam i'm using doesnt really blur the background a lot even when i use a very shallow DoF, so i kept the leaf on the lens..

and yeah, i need to eliminate camera shake in my photos totally.. plan to purchase a mini-tripod or a full blown one soon.. can u suggest any decently priced one? I'm in India so dunno really which models would be available..

and the light source is a tube light.. u can make it out slightly in the 2nd photo i posted.. bottom right, u can see the holder... this is shot indoor..