Hi Wayne…
Macro photography is one of the more challenging areas of photography, both aesthetically and technically. One tough challenge is simply getting close to subjects like this ant; they usually have mates and they can make things rather distracting… ouch!
The other problem with getting close to subjects like this is that you and your camera can present a rather large shadow as you get in close with the natural light. Soon you need to start adding a lot of light so that you can get the aperture closed down enough to get some good depth-of-field. This could be why you opted to use direct, on camera flash to light this image.
My first suggestion to you is to invest in a dedicated Sony sync cord that will let you position a flash unit away from the camera (assuming you already have an accessory flash unit for your camera, rather than the built-in camera flash). The next accessory that I would get is a small soft-box (light diffuser) that you can put over this flash… this will create a softer quality of light that should make the image appear more natural. You might need to get a friend to hold the off-camera flash for you while you operate the camera but the results should be worth it. Have the flash and soft-box positioned close to your subject (within 40cm) so that it provides a soft light; if you want to diffuse the light some more you can then add some small reflectors about the light. Lighting can take some time to master, but into today’s digital world there is absolutely nothing stopping you from exploring some new options. Try lighting for drama… this is after all a rather intimidating subject.
The second thing I would consider is just taking some more control over your angle of view, and your choice of camera orientation. In this image I feel that you have cropped a pinch too tight, but also you have missed the opportunity to get lower and have this ant approaching you. Maybe this is something that you can explore next time.
Finally… to improve the image that you have here, I have used the contrast tools in Photoshop to darken down the background, and then I selected the ant with the Lasso tool (using the Feather option to soften the selection) and I gently increased the contrast in the ant, just to make him stand out more from the background.
Cheers, Image Doctor.
Ant - Image Doctor's edited version
