Hi, one from earlier this evening, 6 spot burnet on Pyramid orchid,
D300, nikon 105mm macro &1.4tc, 1/4 sec f22
All c&c welcome
I have reworked this image and changed sharpening method - I am puzzled as original looked sharp on my monitor -am I posting correctly JPEG 720 pixels on longest side 72 dpi 7 quality.
Below is the re sharpened image, have sharpened in lightroom mount 95 radius 1 detail 57 masking 25 and then in PS using unsharp mask- amount 86 radius 1 threshold 0. this is far more agressive than I usually use I dont usually sharpen in lightroom.
This image was taken on a tripod, remote release and mirror up but begining to wonder if nikon 1.4tc is having an effect or if getting some slight shake somewhere, wonsering if due to slow shutterspeed getting movement in subject or camera shake
Thanks for replying and look forward to some good advice.
Shaun
I agree with Ian about the overall sharpness.
The idea's good but my opinion is this -
You don't really want two nature subjects competing with each other if you see what I mean.
Its a choice between the moth and the orchid which both make good pics in their own right.
Just my personal view Shaun- don't get dis heartened
Cheers
JohnR
Was this hand held or on a tripod..? If HH, I would urge you to use a tripod as at 1/4 sec and f22 you will be subject to handshake and movement of the subject when dealing with macro. You'll find the sharpness of your subject will be much improved.
Posted by Simon Litten on June 24, 2010 at 2:07 PM
Hi Shaun
Re the sharpening. Don't sharpen in lightroom, export to photoshop and sharpen at:
Amount 100%
Radius 0.2
Threshold 0
...and repeat four or five more times (Ctrl - F repeats last filter function). This usually sharpens things up nicely for web viewing.
Hope this helps.
The second image is a definate improvement, both in sharpening and the composition, the first looked a bit tight to the edge of the frame.
The shutter speed you mention should be fine if tripod mounted, MLU and remote release, was there a very slight breeze when you took the shot, the other thing you may want to consider is the f stop you are using in this image. For macro I rarely go over f16, my lens is a sigma 180 and its optimum sharpness is when stopped down between f8 - f16, below f8 and over f16 and images start to get a little soft, this may be a similar story with yours. With a t/c attached this may also be exagerating the effect. I suspect it maybe a combination f stop, t/c and weather.
With regards to sharpening in Lightroom, my experience is that the sharpening will only really work if the image pretty sharp in the first place, if the image is slightly soft, then I think ps is the better option as mentioned by Simon.
Pyramidal Orchids are something I have never seen, although I have been looking, so rather jealous you have been able to photograph them.
I hope this helps
regards
Heath
Posted by Andy Astbury on June 24, 2010 at 4:48 PM
Hi Shaun
A D300 is diffraction limited to f11 - if you use an aperture smaller than that your images will suffer an overall softening that will increase with f number and is a struggle to compensate for in post.
Your macro lens isn't really a plausible partner for your 1.4x tc either but you use what you have to hand at the time.
Use LR to get the best 300 dpi full pixel image from your raw file and then once you are happy with the look of it just right-click on the image and choose export to photoshop - LR will then export the image as a full res TIFF at a bit depth of either 8 or 16 depending on your export preferences.
Use Photoshop to drop your image size, sharpen and change colour profile for the web.
Remember LR works on a ProPhotoRGB colour space which is a huge gamut in comparison to web sRGB - if the image is not converted, or converted poorly then it will never display in a browser the same as it does in LR - even the white points are completely different.
I think John R. has a very valid point with regard to the image - the orchid is competing with the Burnett for a viewers attention.
If you want any help on processing etc: just drop me an email.
Discussion
7 repliesD300, nikon 105mm macro &1.4tc, 1/4 sec f22
All c&c welcome
I have reworked this image and changed sharpening method - I am puzzled as original looked sharp on my monitor -am I posting correctly JPEG 720 pixels on longest side 72 dpi 7 quality.
Below is the re sharpened image, have sharpened in lightroom mount 95 radius 1 detail 57 masking 25 and then in PS using unsharp mask- amount 86 radius 1 threshold 0. this is far more agressive than I usually use I dont usually sharpen in lightroom.
This image was taken on a tripod, remote release and mirror up but begining to wonder if nikon 1.4tc is having an effect or if getting some slight shake somewhere, wonsering if due to slow shutterspeed getting movement in subject or camera shake
Thanks for replying and look forward to some good advice.
well it ticks all the right boxes as they say, nice comp good perch and lovely background.
However the overall image is not sharp.
I assume you were using a tripod ?
I agree with Ian about the overall sharpness.
The idea's good but my opinion is this -
You don't really want two nature subjects competing with each other if you see what I mean.
Its a choice between the moth and the orchid which both make good pics in their own right.
Just my personal view Shaun- don't get dis heartened
Cheers
JohnR
Kind regards,
Brett
Re the sharpening. Don't sharpen in lightroom, export to photoshop and sharpen at:
Amount 100%
Radius 0.2
Threshold 0
...and repeat four or five more times (Ctrl - F repeats last filter function). This usually sharpens things up nicely for web viewing.
Hope this helps.
Simon
Oh, nice shot by the way
The second image is a definate improvement, both in sharpening and the composition, the first looked a bit tight to the edge of the frame.
The shutter speed you mention should be fine if tripod mounted, MLU and remote release, was there a very slight breeze when you took the shot, the other thing you may want to consider is the f stop you are using in this image. For macro I rarely go over f16, my lens is a sigma 180 and its optimum sharpness is when stopped down between f8 - f16, below f8 and over f16 and images start to get a little soft, this may be a similar story with yours. With a t/c attached this may also be exagerating the effect. I suspect it maybe a combination f stop, t/c and weather.
With regards to sharpening in Lightroom, my experience is that the sharpening will only really work if the image pretty sharp in the first place, if the image is slightly soft, then I think ps is the better option as mentioned by Simon.
Pyramidal Orchids are something I have never seen, although I have been looking, so rather jealous you have been able to photograph them.
I hope this helps
regards
Heath
A D300 is diffraction limited to f11 - if you use an aperture smaller than that your images will suffer an overall softening that will increase with f number and is a struggle to compensate for in post.
Your macro lens isn't really a plausible partner for your 1.4x tc either but you use what you have to hand at the time.
Use LR to get the best 300 dpi full pixel image from your raw file and then once you are happy with the look of it just right-click on the image and choose export to photoshop - LR will then export the image as a full res TIFF at a bit depth of either 8 or 16 depending on your export preferences.
Use Photoshop to drop your image size, sharpen and change colour profile for the web.
Remember LR works on a ProPhotoRGB colour space which is a huge gamut in comparison to web sRGB - if the image is not converted, or converted poorly then it will never display in a browser the same as it does in LR - even the white points are completely different.
I think John R. has a very valid point with regard to the image - the orchid is competing with the Burnett for a viewers attention.
If you want any help on processing etc: just drop me an email.