Hi Guys, sorry for the monster thread i'm about to create, but just want some good solid pointers on where i'm going wrong and how to improve... I've basically had time to get my macro lens out today and have a little play in the back garden... shooting handheld, with semi decent light and a flash to assist where the light wasn't forgiving...
Shooting handheld I really struggle with live view, so opt for the viewfinder...
I am shooting on a D3300 with a Sigma 105mm F2.8.
Literally out of the 78 photos I shot... some of them were way off and hand shake was the culprit.. the other 17 are just a bit off and lacking sharpness.... and 3 of them I actually don't mind. (but still don't love)
DSC_9001.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
So this shot... It's a brick... my hands resting on the wall, but still not tack sharp.. I'm putting this down to hand shake?
DSC_9010.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
This fly for me, it seems sharp in places, but it's just lacking that punch to it... I increased Fstop to get more in focus for the next image... This resulted in too much hand shake and was an unusable image.
After this I started to shoot some plants and seen an ant among them... so layed flat and very still I went at him using my viewfinder for focus in natural light.
DSC_9017.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
giving the same results, A disappointing unsharp image.
Next I did get the image sharp... however i was 100% convinced this ants eyes were in focus...
DSC_9028.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
However focus was missed on a stationary ant.
DSC_9034.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
Now with this image It looks like I did catch the focus, however It just seems soft..
DSC_9040.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
I believe this is an aphid... I actually nailed this one.. I'm not sure how or why this is different... but I am happy with this, although the subject isn't the best!
At this point with editing I feel that the image which had a good result was a lucky mistake by me, and the rest are actually how I shoot?
DSC_9041.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
Back to my normal shooting with another non sharp image (shot in the same reel)
DSC_9051.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
You can see on here that the focal plain has caught the eye, but it still doesn't look sharp.
Shooting handheld I really struggle with live view, so opt for the viewfinder...
I am shooting on a D3300 with a Sigma 105mm F2.8.
Literally out of the 78 photos I shot... some of them were way off and hand shake was the culprit.. the other 17 are just a bit off and lacking sharpness.... and 3 of them I actually don't mind. (but still don't love)
DSC_9001.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
So this shot... It's a brick... my hands resting on the wall, but still not tack sharp.. I'm putting this down to hand shake?
DSC_9010.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
This fly for me, it seems sharp in places, but it's just lacking that punch to it... I increased Fstop to get more in focus for the next image... This resulted in too much hand shake and was an unusable image.
After this I started to shoot some plants and seen an ant among them... so layed flat and very still I went at him using my viewfinder for focus in natural light.
DSC_9017.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
giving the same results, A disappointing unsharp image.
Next I did get the image sharp... however i was 100% convinced this ants eyes were in focus...
DSC_9028.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
However focus was missed on a stationary ant.
DSC_9034.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
Now with this image It looks like I did catch the focus, however It just seems soft..
DSC_9040.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
I believe this is an aphid... I actually nailed this one.. I'm not sure how or why this is different... but I am happy with this, although the subject isn't the best!
At this point with editing I feel that the image which had a good result was a lucky mistake by me, and the rest are actually how I shoot?
DSC_9041.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
Back to my normal shooting with another non sharp image (shot in the same reel)
DSC_9051.jpg by Andrew Gray, on Flickr
You can see on here that the focal plain has caught the eye, but it still doesn't look sharp.