CC macro shot please

Here's one I took in my garden last summer. Let me know what I can do to make it better.

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Nice. I think the bee is a bit dominated by the fabulous yellow, perhaps a shallower angle would help?

I would have focused on the bee instead of the flower petals. Nice colors though.

LettieVonDread wrote in post #11594457
I would have focused on the bee instead of the flower petals. Nice colors though.

Yep, focus on the bee.

LettieVonDread wrote in post #11594457
I would have focused on the bee instead of the flower petals. Nice colors though.

I was actually in the middle of of taking the photo of the Sunflower when the bee showed up. Didn't have time to re-focus before the bee took off.

gregr2 wrote in post #11595155
Yep, focus on the bee.

Didn't have time to re-focus. The bee took off quickly since I was so close.

I love taking sunflower pictures. I have one almost like this except I got down a bit lower and shot upward so that there was nothing but blue sky behind it. The contrast of the colors and the fact that there is nothing in the background to distract makes for a better image in my opinion.

I like the lighting on this one, though. Gives good definition of the subject and shows the texture of the "petals" (ray flowers).

Rimmer wrote in post #11595685
I love taking sunflower pictures. I have one almost like this except I got down a bit lower and shot upward so that there was nothing but blue sky behind it. The contrast of the colors and the fact that there is nothing in the background to distract makes for a better image in my opinion.

I like the lighting on this one, though. Gives good definition of the subject and shows the texture of the "petals" (ray flowers).

It's really hard not to get any background in this particular area. There's a few tall shrubs right beside the Sunflowers. I will try shooting more straight up to see if that helps. Here's another image with a little bit more of an angle on the shot. Once again a bee tried to take center stage lol.

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Comparing the two, I think I like the first one better, especially the tight crop. Looking at it again today I don't find the background distracting at all since you have done a good job of throwing it out of focus, and the green contrasts nicely with the yellow of the sunflower.

On the second one, a good attempt at getting a backlit flower, although it is a bit dark. I have not had a lot of luck with this type of shot. A bit of fill flash would help, but then I think that would spoil the effect of the sunlight shining through. Don't know what the solution is.

Real Macro shots are much closer to the subject, so BG isn't much of an issue.
You need a true macro lens to get a proper set-up. I use the 100F/2.8 Canon Macro lens with my 580EXII flash and a flash cord.

Some shooters have the MPE-65 lens and the MT-24EX flash for outstanding Macro images. There's also an image stacking technique to get focus across the entire subject in the image.
You take multiple shots at different focus points and stack them together to help eliminate the thin DOF.

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drdiesel1 wrote in post #11599237
Real Macro shots are much closer to the subject, so BG isn't much of an issue.
You need a true macro lens to get a proper set-up. I use the 100F/2.8 Canon Macro lens with my 580EXII flash and a flash cord.

Some shooters have the MPE-65 lens and the MT-24EX flash for outstanding Macro images. There's also an image stacking technique to get focus across the entire subject in the image.
You take multiple shots at different focus points and stack them together to help eliminate the thin DOF.

Thanks so much for your input. Love your photos by the way.
A macro lens is the next thing I plan to buy. Any recommendations for a good macro lens that is less than $350.00?

Lonestarlady61 wrote in post #11600217
Thanks so much for your input. Love your photos by the way.
A macro lens is the next thing I plan to buy. Any recommendations for a good macro lens that is less than $350.00?

I don't know of any less than the Canon 100mmF/2.8 Macro lens, but using a flash will really help with Macro.