OK.....Where did I mess up???

Canon 6D Mark II with Canon 100mm Macro. Probably took 25 shots and this is the best I came up with. It's the lack of sharpness (especially the head) that's bugging me. Shot hand held but I was sitting confortably in a chair with my elbows resting on my patio table. Something else I'm doing is not right> Please provide input.

at f5 your DOF is going to be pretty tiny...looks like you focused in front of the head...i'd stop the lens down more if you can...it'll give you a bit more in focus, although you still want to make sure it's on the head/eyes

DreDaze wrote in post #18908243
at f5 your DOF is going to be pretty tiny...looks like you focused in front of the head...i'd stop the lens down more if you can...it'll give you a bit more in focus, although you still want to make sure it's on the head/eyes

Agreed.

You really need to stop down to get more in focus. I usually shoot at f/11 but you might get away with f/8. You might even have success at 5.6 if you oriented the mantis more along the focal plane.

DoF can be exasperatingly thin at macro distances. Manual focus is more trustworthy than autofocus, which often grabs onto the background if the intended feature is too small. (I've shot lots of bugs, though most aren't at POTN.)

Don't be hard on yourself because good macrophotography of insects is not easy.
As already stated a smaller aperture would have helped, in most cases you will need additional lighting and a well diffused flash can help a lot with macro enabling a very short exposure time with a small aperture.

To me, it looks like the claws grabbed the camera's focus. The little teeth there look sharp. You didn't say whether or not you used auto-focus or where the focal point(s) was/were. You might try one-shot manual focus with the center focal point on the head, then recompose after the camera locks focus. Or try manual focus. When I do macro, I seldom use autofocus because the camera often seems to think that something else is more important than what I have in mind. I also focus-stack macro shots where the subject isn't moving in order to get more in focus.

On another matter entirely, looking at the histogram, try to level out the large unused tonal range on the white side.

With macro photography you have to line up the plane of focus on the elements you want in focus. Note that the head is forward of the legs and the legs are what is in focus. So in order to get the head and legs in focus they would both have to be at the same plane of focus. Or you choose one over the other and in this case the head is more important than the legs. Also beware that even with macro lenses there is a minimum distance from lens to subject. There is no sharpness if you shoot closer than this minimum distance.

Joe Thibodeau wrote in post #18934971
With macro photography you have to line up the plane of focus on the elements you want in focus.

With the 90mm tilt shift I just bought, I want to add extension tubes and experiment moving the plane of focus for stuff like this.

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Depth of field is so thin at that distance that if you focus, but then move forward even one millimeter (imperceptible distance) your subject will now be out of focus. . It is easy to move a millimeter and not even know it, and not be able to feel it (even when the camera is solidly braced with your elbows on a table).

In order to keep imperceptible movements from messing up focus, I recommend that you set the focus mode to AI Servo and then keep the little red focus square precisely on the insect's near eye the entire time, to ensure that the autofocus will track the subject for you when you rock forward or back so slightly that you can't even feel it.

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I still can't figure out how you guys get insects to sit still for the shoot!

Joe Thibodeau wrote in post #18935212
I still can't figure out how you guys get insects to sit still for the shoot!

It's all in how you talk to them.

I dunno, most will hang around for a while. Approach slowly so you don't spook them... but not TOO slowly or they will get impatient and fly or crawl away.

I'm wondering if "focus-recompose" was used on the mantis?

When handholding even your body moving the very slightest bit will shift focus dramatically.

Its absolutely front focused by a few MM. Claws are what the camera choose. Not sure what the original from camera crop is... but I would pick a single focus point and place that point over the area you want focused. Wider DoF obviously would have helped.... this is specifically where a camera with an EVF and focus peaking would help. But with the single focus point... you should have a the similar tool. capability.

I think this is why most good insect macro photography is done with a tripod - oh, and DEAD insects.

I never use AF with macros, so that I can control, with just a bit of head-sway where focus will end up.