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I am wondering how this image would be viewed and scored (out of 20) by a judge in a club-level competition. What are its strengths and weaknesses?
| Brand: | Canon |
| Camera: | Canon EOS 7D |
| Lens: | ef100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM+close-up lens |
| Recording media: | JPEG (digital) |
| Date Taken: | 16 Aug 2012 - 11:17 AM |
| Focal Length: | 115mm |
| Aperture: | f/11.0 |
| Shutter Speed: | 1/200sec |
| Exposure Comp: | 0.0 |
| ISO: | 400 |
| Exposure Mode: | Aperture-priority AE |
| Metering Mode: | Center-weighted average |
| Flash: | Off, Did not fire |
| Title: | Small skipper butterfly feeding |
| Username: | 
czech |
| Uploaded: | 19 Aug 2012 - 9:24 PM |
| Tags: | Butterfly, Close-up / macro, Wildlife / nature |
| VS Mode Rating |
102 (80% won) These stats show the percentage of wins and the rating score that your photo has achieved. You can go to the VS Mode by clicking on this icon. Signup to e2Signup to e2 to see which photo this has won or lost against in the vs mode |
| Votes: | Voting Disabled |
 | Critique Wanted |
| Modifications Welcome (Upload a Modification) |
Comments
A lot will depend on the individual judge, but here goes.
Im impressed that you obtained quite a good, well detailed shot using a close up lens in front of a large zoom.
The shot itself:
Exposure is quite good. Good detail in the butterfly. A little over-saturated in the yellows, - not uncommon, but can be de saturated a little.
Composition:
The image has the subject in the middle, though the crop, being close to square, is not square. If you want square, make sure its square, and try to have the subject out of the middle. A better approach might be a landscape rule of thirds crop. I think this is the area where the image would lose most marks.
Content:
Very good, clear butterfly with good flower detail, nice close shot.
Ive uploaded 2 versions of crops as a suggestion; toned down yellow a little, and applied a small amount if sharpening.
Hope this helps,
regards
Willie
I have no problem with exposure or composition but wonder about definition. Nothing is critically sharp. That might be compression/internet problems but you are at about 180mm and, i assume, hand held. The magnification factor here will reduce the effectiveness of any IS system by increasing shake on an unsupported lens, assuming you were unsupported of course.
Then there is the CU lens - not usually the best way to macro and definately not on a zoom, even a supeb quality unit such as yours.
Close up lenses need to be dedicated to the lens in use and of very high quality. If you are keen on macro you need a fixed focal length macro lens of 100 tp 150mm.
Paul
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