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bluebird

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Was surprised to see this lime hawk moth in my garden the other day, not very common in this area, but so glad it decided to rest up for the day (believe they only feed at night) so I had to get a photo of it, not the best still on the learning curve with close up of insects etc. Tech details Nikon Z7II, Z105mm macro lens @f20 1/60 sec ISO64 and ring flash.
Z72_5090 copy.jpg
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Interesting shot. Well done! Solid A !

The f/20 gave you good depth of field! The lighting was perfect.



Since you mentioned you are a beginner, below are some things to think about. Your photo was really good, so don't take them as criticism!

If you had shot that at f/8 it probably would have been a bit sharper but you would have had to rotate to your left and get all of the moth straight in the focal plane. Easier said than done! I practice using a small ruler and when you have the entire ruler in focus...bingo!

I try to shoot my macros in a variety of settings (if the critter isn't moving) and see what worked best, and evaluate why one shot was better than another. The smallest adjustment can make or break your focus and sharpness! I try to use a monopod or tripod most of the time to eliminate any camera shake. I really try to shoot that lens at a minimum of 1/100 of a second, the faster the better to minimize any movement. If the flash supports High-Speed Sync you can go a lot higher!

Of course higher shutter speed, higher ISO, but the Z's really handle higher ISOs well and Topaz DeNoise (or the setting in Sharpen) can really be your friend.

The ring flash worked great! What ring flash were you using? Lighting is always an issue!!!

You might also see what you get if you run the image through Topaz Sharpen. It can give you some really amazing results. Using Lightroom's new masking features would probably have worked well with this image, or Photoshop's sharpen tool (which I use very sparingly).

Great image and keep on shooting. Great time of year for macro!!
 
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Andrew Lamberson said:
Interesting shot. Well done! Solid A !

The f/20 gave you good depth of field! The lighting was perfect.



Since you mentioned you are a beginner, below are some things to think about. Your photo was really good, so don't take them as criticism!

If you had shot that at f/8 it probably would have been a bit sharper but you would have had to rotate to your left and get all of the moth straight in the focal plane. Easier said than done! I practice using a small ruler and when you have the entire ruler in focus...bingo!

I try to shoot my macros in a variety of settings (if the critter isn't moving) and see what worked best, and evaluate why one shot was better than another. The smallest adjustment can make or break your focus and sharpness! I try to use a monopod or tripod most of the time to eliminate any camera shake. I really try to shoot that lens at a minimum of 1/100 of a second, the faster the better to minimize any movement. If the flash supports High-Speed Sync you can go a lot higher!

Of course higher shutter speed, higher ISO, but the Z's really handle higher ISOs well and Topaz DeNoise (or the setting in Sharpen) can really be your friend.

The ring flash worked great! What ring flash were you using? Lighting is always an issue!!!

You might also see what you get if you run the image through Topaz Sharpen. It can give you some really amazing results. Using Lightroom's new masking features would probably have worked well with this image, or Photoshop's sharpen tool (which I use very sparingly).

Great image and keep on shooting. Great time of year for macro!!
Click to expand...
Many thanks Andrew for your time and advice, very helpful and will certainly try them on my next exploits. Will look in to Topaz DeNoise, have read a lot of good reviews about it. Ring flash was from Amazon K&F Concept KF-150 not very expensive and basic, not wanting to spend a lot on something that I may not use very often, but for the price it performs OK . Once again thanks for the help and advice.
 
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