DSLRUsers.com

Trying out some new lighting techniques and found the perfect little subject at the dam.

Sedge frog is approx 2cm long.

D70s with Sigma 180 Macro with 3x extension tube set.

Used SB800 (with Lightsphere) as master and SB600 (with diffuser) as slave.

Bounced the SB600 off a silver car sun reflector (the soft type with the dull silver/grey coating)

Exposure time: 1/60s
Aperture: f/20.0
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure: aperture priority

Mark that lens is really sharp and your abilty to control the plane of focus even at small f/stops is excellent.
Overall the images are evenly lit with no obvious pockets of shadow though for my liking a tad too much light. Perhaps that could be part of the issue that with so much light the image looks a little flat and lacks the modelling a little shadow here and there gives. The second thing that hits me is the perspective. I'm not sure that the crops do much for the image here in #1 and #2
I hope this all makes sense mark?
There also seems to be a little too much yellow what WB did you use? Auto or Flash? Generally the colours don't seem as vibrant and punchy as you usually produce.
As an experiment with lighting I think you have a good baseline to explore creating a bit more modelling and sculpturing.
cheers
marco

marcotrov wrote:Mark that lens is really sharp and your abilty to control the plane of focus even at small f/stops is excellent.
Overall the images are evenly lit with no obvious pockets of shadow though for my liking a tad too much light. Perhaps that could be part of the issue that with so much light the image looks a little flat and lacks the modelling a little shadow here and there gives. The second thing that hits me is the perspective. I'm not sure that the crops do much for the image here in #1 and #2
I hope this all makes sense mark?
There also seems to be a little too much yellow what WB did you use? Auto or Flash? Generally the colours don't seem as vibrant and punchy as you usually produce.
As an experiment with lighting I think you have a good baseline to explore creating a bit more modelling and sculpturing.
cheers
marco

Thanks Marco, it sure is a sweet lens.

I know what you mean with the shadows and the perspective is a bit ordinary. Much better to get down low but the little frog would not cooperate and was tucked down in the reeds close to the water. Would have had to go into the dam and shoot from teh other side. I have done that for some of my dragonfly shots but not tonight Was more an experiment with the lighting than an attempt to get a top froggie shot .

And yes I have a much better idea where to head from a lighting perspective, but I will be doing a lot more experimenting yet.

Slider, not sure if you've nailed the lighting yet, but keep continuing your experiments. (It's a bit too strong and harsh for my liking). BTW in that last shot, was that a tick on the frogs back?

Alpha_7 wrote:Slider, not sure if you've nailed the lighting yet, but keep continuing your experiments. (It's a bit too strong and harsh for my liking). BTW in that last shot, was that a tick on the frogs back?

Craig, I think it was a house-ant or mite of some sort. The frog was only 2cm long so whatever it is it is pretty small. Thanks for the feedback.