A mixed bunch of bugs

[LauraF]

Only my third attempt at insect photography, so I know there's room for a lot of improvement still. Especially pleased with the spider (was 4-5mm big for reference), as previously just the sight of one induced a panic attack. Looks like being behind a lens is helping me cure my phobia, there's too much else to concentrate on!

Constructive criticism welcome. Hope I haven't exceeded any post/image limitations, let me know if I have and I'll adjust as necessary!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3080/2431505732_76f1d5f269_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2184/2430690239_458984c266_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2372/2430689359_9d3eacbacf_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2305/2414754920_672551215b_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/2414753224_a06d8309d5_o.jpg

(all hosted by Flickr (http://www.flickr.com))

[Duckydoodle]

They are absolutely gross...












...creatures...










...but superb captures. Well done :thumbs:

[Ajophotog]

Not much to criticise about them really, all are pretty decent shots especially for only your third attempt. Hoverflies could be a little closer but that is a minor point. :thumbs:

[Canon Bob]

Laura,

A very commendable start...especially the house spider. I'm loathe to criticise or offer advice in case you're already aware but here goes anyway.

The last one was taken at f/2.8 and having such a wide aperture will really limit the depth of focus. The first shot is at f/5.6...again a little to large for the DOF needed. The house spider is great and you shot that at f/11...gave the required DOF for the subject. The two quite distant hovers have gained enough DOF from being at a lower magnification (ie, much further away) even though you were only at f/5.
If the subject is 3D and you're working very close then it pays to stop down to f/11 to f/16 providing you have enough light to keep the shutter speed fast enough if hand holding.

Bob

[LauraF]

The lighting was pretty dire so I had to resort to big apertures to keep the shutter speed fast enough to hand hold - but for the spider (taken near the end) I decided to give my flashgun a go and it allowed me to stop down, and ended up producing fairly natural results compared to what I was expecting. The extra depth of field was a godsend - although I'm wary of firing a whopping great flash at creatures incase it distresses them? I'd fire it away and use a reflector to bounce it onto the subject but I think a huge metallic circle might be just as bad!? The spider didn't seem to mind the flash, fortunately. Any thoughts? Aside from using a tripod and lowering the ss that is. Edit - I'd ideally like to keep the ISO <400 too, or the noise is bad

Thanks for the advice though, it's certainly useful to have a ballpoint f-figure to start from - at the minute I end up taking a shot, checking and stopping down one, take another shot, stop down one etcetc and it means I've probably missed crucial shots inbetween.

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated.

[Canon Bob]

Laura,

You might find this Macro-DOF calculator useful http://www.robertseber.com/calculators/MacroDOFCalculator.html

Just insert the top three fields as you predict them for your sbject and sensor and you'll get an idea of the DOF to expect. Change the f-stop until you see that there will be enough DOF for your needs and voila.

A quick demonstration....sensor width for your 400D is 22.5mm. Fill the frame with a 22.5mm long wasp (1:1 reproduction). The DOF at f/16 will be 5x the DOF at f/2.8

Bob

[Les McLean]

These are good, with lovely light, 3&4 are my favourites, and some good advice from Bob

[scraggs]

I wish I had shots to this standard on my 3rd attempt, lovely shots
Alby & Bobs advise is good advise, the only thing I would add is No3 would be a better shot with the insect head or side on, but as usual thats just my personal opinion.

[macmike]

Not wanting to lower the tone of this very technical (and highly informative) conversation, but that spider looks positively cute up so close. All furry and stuff!