Goby on Bubble Coral

Got this shot of a goby sitting on a bubble coral in Lembeh Strait. Just an ordinary subject, but please give some feedback on what you think of the lighting, composition and overall look.

Shot with a Nikon D80, 60mm lens, 2 Inon Z240 strobes (1 positioned directly above set on sTTL, second strobe placed to the left set on sTTL Low setting no.2). Slight adjustments of exposure, shadows and saturation in CS2 RAW converter.

Thanks y'all!

I think its a nice shot as is. The lighting is fine..maybe bring it up a tad in levels. I would have preferred viewing the Goby from below or from a lower point, head on would be ideal. I realize of course this isn't always possible.

Thanks for that ultra quick reply! I kinda liked the diagonal lines that the longer part of the 'bubbles' of corals formed with the goby. I guess that's just personal preference. Would probably need a teleconverter to get a tighter face shot. Wished the bubble coral wasn't so close to the substrate, though. Would otherwise have to become a contortionist of sorts.

Nice shot!

I am wondering if taken from an angle directly above the goby, and close enough or cropped enough to see only the lines on the single bubble with the fish. Rather like a fish on a zebra background.

Perhaps not better than this shot, but interesting to consider.

Just a passing thought.

Dave

Hi Phishsense, Firstly, nice shot, i'm not saying i would do any better but here are a couple of things I would suggest, and these are just my humble opinions/ramblings. The shot from above would have been great, utlising the lines on the coral with the goby lying over them, alternatively from slightly below would have been good, even a little closer to the critter so he is bigger in the frame.

I also feel that the subject for the shot is too centered, a slightly more artistic crop, utilising the rule of thirds and/or some negative space would be great, however with macro work I generally prefer the subject to be a little larger in the frame see changes below one man's meat is another man's poison. The other thing is that slightly detracts form the photo is the backscatter top left that can easliy be cones out or sorted with the healing brush.

Again just my $0.02