Background in macro Photography

Two diferents pics of the same hermit crab.

One, 1/30 and f/7.8 with flash in manual (1/8 power) -> Blue background:

Two, 1/1000 and f/7.8 with the flash in TTL -> Black background:

Now the frist one croped:

Please tell what do you think about this pics, and Wich one is best in your opinion?

Thanks

I prefer the blue on this particular shot because it gives a feel for the hermit crab's environment without distracting from the subject. Again, it depends on the subject, background, and composition. BTW: Nice shot!

Diverhead - I agree w/ you 100% I was thinking I like the first shot because it shows the animal's habitat. I also like the blue water exposure. It's not strictly "macro" perhaps in this case, but it's nice.

The other shot looks a bit overexposed to my eye.

Cheers

James

I agree with James-not really macro. The second picture seems technically inferior. It seems soft and lacking in detail. It is also much warmer than the first. If I were to crop the first I would not make it so tight. The first is the best of the three for me. I think as you get to higher magnifications, you'll have a harder time keeping the blue backgrounds.

The other shot looks a bit overexposed to my eye.

 

Cheers

James

James; remember the frist shot is with the flash in manual (1/8 power) and the second in TTL, so it´s true the pic is a bit overexposed, next time I try the shot with the manual flash to

Cheers

Mariano

I like the first one better as well. I like the blue backround much better that the black. I also like the composition with the crab to one side. Makes it seem as he/she is "going somewhere".

However, as a group of pics, I like to see the tight crop as well. My wife and I make albums of our trips and I like to pair a close up of the subject with a wider shot showing it's environment on the same page to give perspective. (of course, only if the subject is appropriate).

John

I too like the first one. It says to me "a day in the life of" as opposed to the others.

Here's a modified version of the second one...

I still prefer the blue backround. Seeing them both gives the idea the poor crab waited around all day for something until it got dark.

John

I just saw "Finding Nemo" yesterday. I think I'm imagining all these critters with complex personalities and personal issues.

John

Here's a modified version of the second one...

Craig, the pics looks really better!

With Photoshop?

How you have done it?

The steps to have this final pic?

Thanks

Mariano

PD. I prefer the frist shot too.

I used a PS7 plugin that provides one-click white balance over several brightness ranges, so I can't tell you exactly how to duplicate it. Basically, the plugin removed some red and applied a red gamma correction. You could duplicate it using the RGB control and the middle slider (moved left) on the red channel in the levels control. I also applied an overall gamma correction (.9) to reduce the midtone levels and added some moderate sharpening.

My goal was simply to make the black background photo more comparable to the blue one. I still prefer the blue one, but wanted the unrelated differences to be reduced.