saying grace

[emmerick]

just started with macro photography, my concern is the DoF or lack of it..

[Kaye Leggett]

What's the EXIF data ? I mess about with macro photography and whilst considering myself no expert have found that at this close you actually need quite a narrow aperture. The other alternative is to take more than one shot but then you need to be able to post process - something I haven't learned how to do yet.....

[Shadowman]

Agree with Kaye, this is what you'll get with a single shot.

[Geoff F]

This was shot at F8 which is reasonable although I prefer F11 to F14.

But nothing is perfectly sharp with this shot so I wonder if there are other issues.

Did you use auto or manual focus and did you shoot on a tripod? Whenever possible I always use manual focus and a tripod.

The Iso is a bit on the high side but anything lower would create problems with other settings. In those situations I use a bit of flash but flash needs some careful use with macro photography.

And what equipment did you use.

Not sure about the identity of your model. Certainly one of the hoverflies and I am wondering about Meliscaeva auricollis although it is a bit on the orange side like some Epistrophe species.

Some different angles would really be needed for identification.

[bnnrcn]

I'm not a macro shooter,so all I can say welcome and I like the colours

[Wavelength]

Even though there is alack of sharpness, i am very much impressed by the colors and commanding stance of the bee.... it is a wonderful yellow theme

[Stagecoach]

Hi Emmerick and welcome to CiC,

A good start and looking at the Exif data I see you are using a D90 and 60mm, good gear that can get you excellent results.

I'm a macro shooter that hangs out here and there's a few of us that post regularly so keep them coming and ask any questions.

This image was shot at f8 limiting your DoF but do not be afraid to close down to f16 or f22 if the light will allow without pushing the ISO too high. There is much said about using the optimum aperture (generally around f8/f11) to obtain maximum quality but if you are producing images for web viewing at this size the advantage of gaining the extra DoF far outweighs any loss of quality due to diffraction.

Tripods can be an advantage but also a major disadvantage with subjects such as this that flit from flower to flower and move. You can spend more time moving a tripod around than taking shots.

Try focusing manually near enough and then with your body rigid and shutter pressed half way move your body/camera in towards the subject slowly and the moment the eye/eyes become sharp in the viewfinder click the shot. Concentrate totally on the eye whilst doing this.

Grahame

[steve welle]

I have done a little bit of image stacking for depth of field. For a moving subject this would not be a good solution. Better to go with smaller aperture and higher ISO. You can never increase depth of field in post processing with a single image but you can reduce noise from high ISO to some extent so that's your best option unless you can expose longer without motion blur/camera shake.

For still subjects image stacking is a good solution in some cases. But if subject is completely still I prefer very small aperture and long exposure with tripod to avoid it. I never have enough diffraction to bother me at f/22.

But in some cases you just cannot get enough depth of field without stacking images. It takes some practice to shoot the images with the correct focus overlaps. And leave a little room for cropping.

[IzzieK]

I like your title...it is very appropriate for your shot.

[emmerick]

hi stagecoach, thanks for the tips, though i wanted to shoot it at a much smaller aperture, i couldn't since it was late afternoon, weather's balmy and a bit cloudy and i would want to keep my ISO in check..my fault though is that i shoot it handheld, was squatting to get that angle..manual focus and took several shots..anyway, would post some more if i could find time..busy at work, just a weekend shooter..will keep in touch..

erick

[emmerick]

hi Geoff F, i'm using d90, lens is just the 60mm macro, cant afford the 105 for now..model? i think its a bee, though not quite sure..oh, the tripod, i shoot it handheld, manual focus and no flash..

[emmerick]

hi steve welle, am not familiar with image stacking nor i got the software to do image stacking..guess i really have to practice some more..thanks...

[Geoff F]

hi Geoff F, i'm using d90, lens is just the 60mm macro, cant afford the 105 for now..model? i think its a bee, though not quite sure..oh, the tripod, i shoot it handheld, manual focus and no flash..

Definitely a hoverfly, not a bee; compare the antennae.

And one of the Syrphini hoverfly grouping. But this is a fairly large group which tends to be difficult for full identification.

I always find manual focusing while hand holding the camera to be difficult. Your focus depth is so shallow that it is easy to slightly vary your distance to subject while focusing. Which is why I always use a tripod. A quick grip ball head tripod makes things a lot easier.

If you do get serious about insect photography I would recommend going to a 150 mm lens; but not cheap. I normally shoot with 180 mm and often with a 1.4x converter attached.