Atherton & District Amateur Photographic Society

I have a macro lens and am trying to learn how to use it......
This is one of the early shots. He stayed still for a short time whilst I grabbed a shot then flew away.
Any advice welcome.

Hi Glenys

I don't know much about macro lenses, but in terms of composition, I think the image is dominated by the large dark area in the foreground. Maybe cropping the image might focus more attention on the insect?

I agree about the cropping, but it's a pretty good start.

As in all portraits, focus on the eyes. Depth of field will be your major problem at these distances.

Thank you for that guys. I was aware of the heavy blackness at the base of the photo and wondered if that helped to make him darker. A plant was shading that area and I did not wish to take too much time moving it in case he flew off. I had also croped it once. Maybe I should have cropped it closer.
What about this one please:

Hi Cookie,
Depth of field is the hardest thing to control but as with everything practice practice practice, plus a good tripod and cable release,
here is my shot of a Blue Skimmer with no cropping.
Bert.

H Cookie,
Two examples of how citical DOF is, the Skimmer has a very shallow DOF with the body sharp but the wings out of focus,
the Hoverfly has a much greater DOF making all the fly and the flower in focus, good luck with your lens and hope to see more of your images,
some of my macro work can be seen on the link to EPHOTOZINE on the clubs forum.
Bert.