Ten Tips For Bug and Insect Macro Photography In The Field
By Ed McAskill
26 Aug 2009
When in the field please respect the habitat these little creatures live in. Try not to tear the plants up or rip leaves off something just to get a look at an insect or bug. Try giving the plant or shrub a shake or two instead, you will not hurt them if they happen to fall a few feet to the ground. How would you like it if a dragonfly came by and ripped the roof of your house and asked "could i get a picture"
Tip #1 - Be Prepared - In the field prepare and protect yourself for the day of shooting, use the sunscreen, the bug spray, wear a hat, bring a lunch and plenty of water even buy a mosquito jacket. Make sure of your equipment, batterys charged, extra memory cards, monopod and of course the camera. Prepare to get dirty and muddy. Get out those ragged jeans and grubby shoes or boots.You will be on your knees and belly to get the shots you want of those little creatures. There is a nothing worse than cutting short a perfect day for shooting because you got hungry or you thought about that cold beer and were willing to settle for that bottle of water.
Tip #2 - Research and Patience - The key here I think is research, lets say you go to a site that features a certain insect and you would like to photograph that insect yourself. Okay then read, find out about its habitat, its habits, what does it eat, what eats it. Now there`s a
picture!!! Give yourself a chance to find that insect easily and if you dont find it that day you probably will the next day. I can remember when I first started and my interest in dragonflies peaked. It seemed all I could find were damselflies, then all of a sudden one day there it was a big dragonfly. It was because of research and patience, I knew where to look I just had to be patient, I knew I would find the big dragonfly.
Tip #3 - Keep a keen eye - This is the fun part for me, I know when I go out to shoot I could end up shooting something I have already seen and photographed. That`s fine and dandy. Thats just part of what happens in the field, some species are just more plentiful then others.
So go ahead and give that shrub a shake, look under a log or a rock. It might be crawling up your pant leg. It just might whiz by your head and scare the heck out of you. Look at that!!! Geez I have never seen that before. I get real excited when that happens. When that happens to you I can guarantee that you will be on every bug and insect site on the internet trying find out what that little creature is.
Tip #4 - Go slow and stay quiet...hey look!!! a dragonfly....geez its gone...you know why...you just scared the living crap out it. Most flying insects are fearless but if you head toward them like a bull in a china shop, sorry no picture. Stay cool and approach slowly with no sudden moves and you can get close. If it takes off wait a bit and it might come back and show you its better side. This is very true with dragonflies, they like to perch on something and watch for bugs they can eat. They will take off and come to the same place and eat. If you do have a dragonfly take off on you keep an eye on it and try to follow its movements. Dragonflies have to rest their wings after flight. This is the best time to photograph them, they will allow you to very close to them as long you go slow and stay quiet
Tip #5 - Use manual mode, manual focus and spot metering- Stay away from those A, S and P modes. They might be easier to use but you will get better results in manual mode.
Do not use auto-focus, you need to control where to focus. You might be able to use it if your not too close, but in tight...manual focus.
Use spot metering...remember bugs and insects are small. Its important they are exposed properly.
Tip #6 - Lots of Light - Macro as we all know yields very little depth of field. One way to get better DOF is to have a lot of light so you can use f/stops like f11 and better. Here is a trick I use sometimes, with todays better dslr`s noise isnt such a problem at high ISO`s. In lower light situations I just bump up my ISO. This does two things for me, I can use f/stops like f11 and might even provide faster shutter speeds. Remember to keep the light coming from behind you. You might notice I didnt mention flash...so i wont.
Tip #7 - Shutter Speed - The faster the shutter speed the better is what I say. Enough said.
Tip #8 - Monopod - Not a tripod. Tripods are cumbersome in the field. Monopods offer the best flexibility and they allow you to get in the best position to frame your subject. More importantly they help prevent camera shake with slower shutter speeds. I dont care how good of a photographer you are, camera shake happens even with VR or OS or whatever else its called, admit it!!!
Tip #9 - Shoot in Bursts - Okay you have that insect or bug framed the way you like it, now take the picture. Take a few quick shots in row. This does a couple things, it helps with camera shake. Dont forget any camera shake that happens when shooting in tight is magnified even more because you are actually magnifying the subject right. I think i said that right...lol. Second...it almost always guarantees a sharp picture. Be aware of yourself and the camera moving in and out from your subject and try not breath when hitting that shutter, you need to keep your body nice and steady.
Tip #10 - HAVE FUN!!!
