Originally posted by bluestringer Thanks everyone for the comments. I was using a ring flash, and the hard shell of the ladybug is very reflective. The ring flash is diffused as is, and I was only on 1/8 power, but it still reflects off the shell.
Try an additional layer of styrofoam plate infront of the flash. This probably will reduce the hard white spots created by the ring flash.//or decrease the power of flash light to 1/16. The right flash being on the front elements of the lens is very near to the bugs and that provides exceptional power, more so if the lens is of shorter macro lens..
More than 1:1 magnification with the set up, great DOF. like the sharpness here.
marcus