First Mantis

A mantis came to visit me in my bed last night, here is my attempt at a crop:

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I would like to improve and get better - but barely anyone ever leaves feedback on my threads. The whole reason I post stuff is so that I can share and also get feedback.

Do I just suck? What is it?

I think it looks great! I'm just getting started myself, and I've got loads yet to learn, but it looks pretty good to me.

By the way, what lens did you use?

Give folks a little time to respond. It's only been posted for 3 hours. Some people are asleep. I am confident that Brian V will pop in an make a comment. He is good about that.

I like the first best of the 2. but they both seem a little oof.

Looks pretty good to me
Think I'd try less of a crop just on the edge of the wood frame on the right and more head space above the mantid taking the mantid slightly to the left.

Brian V.

Good shots. You could probably close the aperture down a little from f/2.8 to f/5.6 at that range to get more depth of field. But the focus is spot on. Well done.

Regarding "no comments" - you only posted it 6 hours ago. Remember this is a world-wide forum. Just because you're up and posting doesn't mean it's the right time of day for everyone to do so. Your photos don't suck. Far from it. I find it's best to give a full day for everyone to have a chance to look at them. The comments will come, just give people more than 3 hours. It's a forum, not a chatroom

Thanks for the comments guys - and sorry, I'm a little impatient sometimes

And Brian, I think I know what you mean, but could you show me an example of how you would crop it?

Also, what kind of aperture ranges should I be looking at in low-light conditions like these? I know in bright daylight some people stop down to even f/11, but what about the dark?

The aperture is determined by what depth of field you want at whatever working distance you're shooting at. There's no hard and fast rule. If you're using natural light, it's a balancing act of aperture you want, shutter speeds high enough to stop any movement, and ISO to get the exposure right but not too high to keep the noise down.

Your options increase if you have a flash, since you are providing the light.

Hope that makes sense. I'm tired.

Yah that makes sense - thank you I'll go out and shoot some more.

Go get 'em

As a starting point, try keeping apertures below f/13, and above f/8.

He says, "What cha lookin a cyclops"?

This would be better with a higher angle so that you could see all of him.

acchildress wrote in post #6388689
He says, "What cha lookin a cyclops"?

This would be better with a higher angle so that you could see all of him.

Haha

I would've if I could, every time I raised my camera he would scuttle off behind a post or something... elusive little guy...