macro beginner 2

[tbond]

Here is another macro, also of an orb web spider, this one with a fly.
Is this an improvement?
what could have been done better?

http://www.photography.ca/Forums/members/tbond/albums/insects/14049-breakfast-sorted.jpg

[theantiquetiger]

It took me a minute to figure this image out. :D

The spider is upside down, eating a fly. The body of the spider is a little soft to me as well as the fly. The "tiger stripes" on the spider's body should be the main focus as well as the fly(IMO), but I know this would be really hard in macro. I may have rotated the image clockwise 90 deg as well.

The comp of this one is better than your first two, but I think the sharpness on your second macro was better. You should link the other two so they can be easily compared.

[Iguanasan]

I like the "upside-downness" of the shot, myself. Good composition having all the important bits in the image. The problem is with depth of field which is a macro shooter's nightmare. What were your settings on this one, tbond? All the EXIF's been stripped out so it's hard to suggest what might have been done differently without that info.

[tbond]

The settings were...
ISO 400
F/6.3
1/200 sec

I don't think I could have gone much slower as there was a breeze blowing the web, as well as movement from fly and spider. My other attempts were very blurred.
cheers Trevor

[Iguanasan]

The evil wind! Yes, I've been there before too. :) There is some confusion between spider and fly which may have been solved by a greater depth of field or possibly a slightly different angle. Next time don't be afraid to try ISO 800 or 1600 to help maximize the depth of field and possibly a couple of different angles too. I'm far from an expert in this field myself. I like your results so far.

[Marko]

Iggy gives good critique.
For me it's the lack of anything tack sharp here. Your shutter speed was likely too slow given the wind.