My first Macro shot feedback

kpr1291 wrote:

Hello,

This is my first macro photography from a Spider. May not be the sharpest shot since I was hand holding and I shot it at F/16. The point is to get feedback so I can improve my macro shooting. I also photograph diverse wildlife and birds.

Equipment:

1. Canon 90D
2. Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC
3. Raynox DCR-250 Macro conversion lens
4. TTL 600 Godox Flash shot wireless with diffuser on.

Edited in Lightroom and Topaz Denoise AI.

Location: North Pacific of Costa Rica. (No ID, I believe is a Wolf Spider)

You are right, this is a female wolf spider, appears to be of Hogna genus, but I am not a scientist.

Since you asked for feedback, you might want to consider a crop and removing the excess upper/left area of the image, like so:

This would make your subject's interesting core details the more noticeable:

From there (and this is a personal choice), I would remove the "red color wash" from the entire image, while trying to keep the animal's own authentic color intact. Below may not be perfect (and others may disagree with the premise in general), but this is what I mean by removing "the red color wash":

To my eye, the color of the wolf spider is true, but the "red wash" is removed from the overall image. I am sure the coloration could be tweaked more perfectly than what I've done, but this is just a quick fix to give you an idea.

Everything else about the image is excellent (focus, lack of noise, etc.), so it seems to me you very familiar with shooting in general.

One more thing: although one user said, "Always use flash," I completely disagree: use beautiful natural light, whenever possible. I do agree that some subjects demand the use of flash, due to movement. I also agree, when hand-holding, it's probably best to use flash.

However, wolf spiders (crab spiders, sometimes lynx spiders, etc.) will often sit completely motionless. So, with a tripod, and by dropping the shutter, you can obtain some really nice, clear shots in natural light ... that will give you a range of colors that are a bit more subtle.

Happy shooting,