Hi everyone,i have just registered and i would like you to comment on this image of a Brown argus,i have been doing wildlife/bird photography for about 2 year's,last year i got myself the new canon 100mm 2.8 is L macro lens,since then i have found a real passion for macro photography especially butterflies,this summer has been my first real all out assault on the species,so i would be happy for some advice and crit were needed,many thank's John.
That's a very nice image, John, and welcome to the forums.
The exposure and detail in the butterfly wings is great, and I love the way the colours in the beautifully out-of-focus background echo the flower on which she is standing. The background is a tribute to the excellent bokeh of your Canon macro. Your exposure of 1/100s @ f/8, ISO400 indicates that the light levels were not too high and I think soft lighting, rather than direct sun, is an asset.
If I were looking to improve it, I would try to adjust your position so that the plane of sharp focus includes the forepeak of the wing. After the eyes, this is a critical point where the viewer's attention rests.
You could use a smaller aperture but, although the depth of field will increase, the absolute sharpness may be reduced by diffraction; you should be ok to at least f/11 or even f/16, and it would probably help with the antennae as well. I always find it is difficult to decide how to cope with the antennae, as they always stray outside the area of optimum focus!
All in all, it's a lovely picture and I'll look forward to seeing more in the forums.
Hi Mike,thank you for your advice,a very good in depth reply,i like to take my shot's hand held,(hate carrying a tripod about)but i will put your tip's to use and see what i can achieve,
I'm no fan of tripods either - especially for mobile subjects like butterflies. Many people consider you can't get sharp pics without them but I find that a monopod is a good compromise - less hassle than a tripod but a big improvement in stability over hand-holding.