[robbo]

I took this very early in the morning after a heavy snow and cold frost. I would like you thoughts on comp, quality or any other topic. I chose to focus on the frost and only a small portion of the milkweed. The resizing killed some of the frosty sparkle, but you can still get the idea.

[_MB_]

I don't think this works.

The temptation with macro is to keep hold of pics where there is really good fine detail even if other elements of the pic fall down. You need to be more ruthless here than in a lot of other fields.

I think your major problem here is the too shallow depth of field, and the unbalanced frame filling.

There's all this space on the right, a soft seed pod at the top, then a larger seed pod in the middle which lies across the edge of your depth of field, and a little bit of something at the bottom right.

The good things about this photo are the dreamy background colours, which to me scream to surround a much less busy composition, perhaps focused on a single isolated seed pod.

There's no problem with the sharpness where it is sharp but you need to calculate your depth of field (handy online tool here: Online Depth of Field Calculator) , after all this plant isn't going anywhere. You can then know for sure before you've even pressed the shutter whether it's going to all be in lovely sharp focus or not.

Flash is leaving quite hard shadows but I'm not unduly concerned about that, it suits the frosty high contrast thats naturally there anyway.

A smaller aperture, one that affords you adequate dof is what is needed here, along with a much less crowded composition, you can use rubber bands to keep things out the way without damaging a plant. HTH

[robbo]

MB -
That is great feedback and exactly what I need to keep the skills improving. I will take a look at that dof on-line tool and make another trip out to the milkweed and give it another try. I have included another shot that I was working on from the same shoot. Is this more in line with what you would like to see in the shot?

[_MB_]

Yes this is much more like it!

This focuses on one element, other seed pods etc are in middle background and don't intrude like they do in the first pic. You've still got some out of focus on the main seed pod but this is something you can address with DOF knowledge.

[robbo]

Thanks coach!

[Rob Barron]

Interesting shot here Robbo and I can't really add much to what MB has already said.

Do you not have a Depth of Field preview button on the E500 (assuming that is the one you were using here). If you do, this is a useful button to press when setting up the shot. Basically it stops the lens down to the aperture selected so that you can see through the viewfinder how much is sharply focused. I only mention it because it's surprising how many people forget about that particular button

If you can get another shot in a similar style to this 2nd one but in good sharp focus across the seed head then you'll have a very good shot for your files

Cheers,
Rob

[_MB_]

Originally Posted by Rob Barron

Do you not have a Depth of Field preview button on the E500 (assuming that is the one you were using here). If you do, this is a useful button to press when setting up the shot.

For the longest time i thought this was a stupid gadget and couldn't see the fuss, before i really understood aperture - you think all it does is dull the display but setting a really narrow aperture and flipping it on and off shows it is a really useful feature. Use it all the time now.

[Rob Barron]

Yup, I agree MB. And I must say it is also becoming more useful with cameras that now have LiveView and a considerably larger screen than they used to. My 40D's 3" screen looks huge next to my 20D's 1.8" screen. The difference this makes in allowing me to see whether something is in focus or not is quite considerable.

It is admittedly quite difficult to use it if you are doing a long exposure shot with a very small aperture as it does then become too dark to really see much but when working in mid aperture range it is very helpful.

Cheers,
Rob

[robbo]

Rob,

I found it! I have a button I can program to be DOF Preview. My manual does not explain at all how to use it except how to push it. Is there a quick trick to understanding this feature?

[j sotelo]

MB that DOF calculator came really handy Thanks for sharing that

[_MB_]

Originally Posted by robbo

Rob,

I found it! I have a button I can program to be DOF Preview. My manual does not explain at all how to use it except how to push it. Is there a quick trick to understanding this feature?

The best subject is probably the one you already picked here. To understand what it's doing, set up a shot like the ones here. Set the aperture very wide (f2.8, f4, whatever), look through the viewfinder and press the button. Probably your scene will look much as it did before you pressed the button. Now set a very narrow aperture like f16, f18, f22. Pay attention to the background (out of focus), then press the dof preview button. Everything goes dark, sure but also you should see a tremendous difference in the areas that are out of focus. Much more definition.

This is really useful if for example you want two things to be in sharp focus but find them to be at different distances from the camera. Trial and error with dof preview, or calculated dof with the tool i linked to, and you'll get a lot more hits and a lot fewer misses

Originally Posted by j sotelo

MB that DOF calculator came really handy Thanks for sharing that

np