DSLR Shots and Discussions

didymus

Thanks for the compliments guys

Thats a pretty good shot. Butterflies are one of the hardest insects to shoot.
Looks like you didn't use a flash, right? Flash is the key to doing macro. You want to get the flash either on a bracket or handheld off the camera so you can control where the light comes from. And like mentioned you want a diffuse source. Some people use macro ring flashes but they tend to be very harsh/stark. I had good luck with an inflatable softbox like this
Amazon.com: Opteka Inflatable Universal Studio Soft Box Flash Diffuser for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sony, Sigma, & Other External Flash Units: Camera & Photo
The point of using a flash (aside from exposure) is also to help separate from the background, which is a bit distracting in your image. Also why using a longer zoom is helpful, to get a nice blurred bokeh

You'll love it, it's razor sharp. Should be an 'L' lens

And since we're talking macro, heres an old shot, note how the shallow DOF and long lens help isolate the subject