Terri Adcock
September 2023 - Praying Mantis at Sunset
About the Image(s)
This is a SOOC shot of my friends praying mantis lit from behind and shot through an orange gel
I am aiming for a look that suggests I caught this praying mantis at sunset.
I am not convinced it portrays this
Technical details
Canon EOS 1DX2 with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro lens
1/80 f/10 ISO 160
5 comments posted
Welcome to the group, Terri. Legend has it that seeing a praying mantis can be a sign of good luck and fortune! Hope you have both.
You note that this image is straight out of camera. Do you typically use any kind of editing software to develop your images? I love the orange glow in this image, however, I wonder if you could add a bit of gradient to it so that it wasn't a solid color. The sharpness and details in the front leg of the mantis is great, but as I move down it's back there becomes less detail. In post, I would isolate the mantis and lift the shadows on him a bit, especially up around his head and eyes, as he appears to be looking right at you. Or if your preference was to capture a silhouette of him since he was backlit, I would darken him down a bit more than he is. Just a picky thing of mine, are those few dust spots at the top left right near his antennas. Nice first image in our group. Looking forward to more of your work. Posted: 09/02/2023 10:39:09
You note that this image is straight out of camera. Do you typically use any kind of editing software to develop your images? I love the orange glow in this image, however, I wonder if you could add a bit of gradient to it so that it wasn't a solid color. The sharpness and details in the front leg of the mantis is great, but as I move down it's back there becomes less detail. In post, I would isolate the mantis and lift the shadows on him a bit, especially up around his head and eyes, as he appears to be looking right at you. Or if your preference was to capture a silhouette of him since he was backlit, I would darken him down a bit more than he is. Just a picky thing of mine, are those few dust spots at the top left right near his antennas. Nice first image in our group. Looking forward to more of your work. Posted: 09/02/2023 10:39:09
Welcome!! Definitely impactful on my first viewing, but like Karen some questions start coming up like is this for real? Or why not bring out some detail from the shadows. The diagonal line is effective but I think you could do with more space at the top and on the right. Your use of the gel is interesting and effective. Posted: 09/02/2023 14:38:46
Welcome to our group, Terri.
Both Karen and Piers make good points about the impact of the image. No sure what effect you were going for - outside of the potential sunset feel - but the image seems in limbo between the silhouette and the more illuminated, detail-oriented scene.
The orange gel already has a slight gradation from the lower right to the upper left, but that could easily be accentuated with a little post processing. Posted: 09/03/2023 06:45:56
Both Karen and Piers make good points about the impact of the image. No sure what effect you were going for - outside of the potential sunset feel - but the image seems in limbo between the silhouette and the more illuminated, detail-oriented scene.
The orange gel already has a slight gradation from the lower right to the upper left, but that could easily be accentuated with a little post processing. Posted: 09/03/2023 06:45:56
Welcome to the group, Terri
I like the composition of the image. In particular the strong diagonal line created by the stick with the praying mantis delicately poised on top of it.
I would not be convinced that this was a sunset image. Although the background is great it gives me the impression that there is too much orange (sunset light) comming from the front of the photo and shining onto the subject.
Although the outline of the mantis is sharp, it loses detail within it's body area.
Maybe try and soften the orange filter over the body in Photoshop and tease out a little of the detail within the image.
I am just being picky! ... It is a great image and it really caught my eye.
Well done.
Posted: 09/07/2023 01:11:55
I like the composition of the image. In particular the strong diagonal line created by the stick with the praying mantis delicately poised on top of it.
I would not be convinced that this was a sunset image. Although the background is great it gives me the impression that there is too much orange (sunset light) comming from the front of the photo and shining onto the subject.
Although the outline of the mantis is sharp, it loses detail within it's body area.
Maybe try and soften the orange filter over the body in Photoshop and tease out a little of the detail within the image.
I am just being picky! ... It is a great image and it really caught my eye.
Well done.
Posted: 09/07/2023 01:11:55
Welome to our group, Terri, and I look forward to seeing your bio to learn where you live. I am always fascinated with a magnified praying Mantis--such detail. I like the feeling that it's hesitating to take that next step off the stick. I believe mimicking a sunset works if you do just a little editing of adding some variant in the brightness, perhaps mimicking the variant of the sunset. Posted: 09/07/2023 15:24:10