Avoid these 6 beginner mistakes in insect macro photography

[@usernamemykel]

What a beautiful, magnificent forest setting! Spanish moss and climbing leaves everywhere. As Dorothy said "We're not in Kansas anymore". How fortunate you are! Enjoyed the BTW - including your great voice.

[@foto-spective]

@@usernamemykel Thank you 🙏 I appreciate your kind words.

[@usernamemykel]

@@foto-spective You are most certainly welcome. You and the forest deserve it.

[@jiffijoff9780]

Great video, I like the low-tec approach. Well done, looking forward to watching upcoming episodes.

[@foto-spective]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@ickebins6948]

Thanks for the video. From my point of view, the main problem people new to macro photography have is too little patience. Especially in the beginning you want to have photos of everything you can find. So you take every shot you can get. This then goes hand in hand with scaring away the insects because you weren't careful enough. With time you become calmer and can take more time, because you may already have 10 usable photos of this insect, which you just want to photograph again. You also get more experience how to move in such environments without scaring up the whole environment and you get an "eye" for the insects.

[@foto-spective]

Very good point. I certainly was less patient when I started. It's something we all improve on overtime.

[@karlgunterwunsch1950]

@@foto-spective You also will shift (if you stick with it) to more behavioural aspects, feeding butterflies, bees attacking the feeding butterflies because of scarce nectar plants, the long horn bee emerging from the native orchid after resting during the night in that orchid or the small sand bee emerging from the lady slipper orchid after having fallen into the slipper part and getting the pollen on the back when taking the designated exit route... I would like you try to capture that without a tripod, the wait time for example on the longhorn bee was just over 4 and a half hours as the weather kept changing and postponing the time when the environment had warmed up enough for it to emerge from its slumber, or the 10 minutes it took the sand bees to clean themselves from the moisture they picked up in the orchid - only a few shots during that time being usable because there always were legs in some awkward position blocking the eye or the pollen packets on the back which for me were essential to tell the story, you just can't risk using hand held flash photography in these situations because then you have another set of variables which may well ruin the few remaining shots (flash not firing, flash disturbing the insects, flash reflections off the water droplets in the hair of the bees, the focus missing, etc.)... The focus too is a problem in macro photography, you rightfully shun focus stacking but you also want as much DOF on your subject as possible - if you leave it up to the camera autofocus then most of the time you will lose half of your precious DOF as it is distributed 50:50 around the plane of focus the camera chose, most likely that being on the nearest element of the subject to the camera thus that half of the DOF that extends towards the camera not encompassing any subject elements.

[@foto-spective]

@@karlgunterwunsch1950 Very well said. You have much more patience than I. 😆 Sitting 4 hours for a shot isn't for me. I thoroughly appreciate those who can, that allow the rest of us to enjoy the wonderful photos that come from it.

[@karlgunterwunsch1950]

@@foto-spective I on the other hand don't have the patience to sit in a wildlife hide for hours on end, not knowing if anything will show up. With macro photography I can look for my subjects and adapt to the situation. The sand bees I found in the lady slipper orchid before they emerged (I was wondering how they would emerge although I had read up on the subject before) and the longhorn bee was just a case of finding them resting in the orchids the evening before and being there at sunset (because you never know when the temperature allows the to resume building their burrows and foraging)... It is just a case of quality of quantity. If I get away with maybe 10-20 good photos that are either aesthetically pleasing enough for my friends or wife to tell me that they want to have them printed large on the wall or they tell a story that I have rarely seen elsewhere (like the caterpillar which was being used as the rope in a tug of war between two predatory bugs with a fly already in the process of depositing eggs on the soon to be sucked dry hull)... Macro photography is a case of accumulating a lot of species knowledge, the more you know about your subjects and their behaviour the better. But even then you may face surprises: Recently I got shots of a kind of sand bees capturing European oak leafroller moths - I knew they were capturing insects to serve as food for their larvae but every text on their behaviour stated clearly that the care for this food is solely done by the female. But the flight pattern was strange and the captured moths about twice as large as the small bees - so I stuck around until I got a decent capture and it was a sight to behold (and I will see that I can capture that better next year as this year I only got a successful failure type of shot, the next day the bees were capturing other, smaller prey) as the male bees were flying in tandem with the females to manage to have enough lift to be able to transport those rather large captured moths. I am already in contact with etymologists specialized in the subject of solitary bees if they have noticed this kind of behaviour or if that even is something new to science.

[@foto-spective]

@@karlgunterwunsch1950 Very interesting subjects. It's always interesting to study others techniques and the reasons behind those techniques. It makes us all better photographers in the end. Thank you for sharing. I will likely have to revisit your technique in the future. I'll never know if it grows on me if I don't try.

[@wayne2411]

Another great video. Thank you!!

[@foto-spective]

Glad to hear you enjoyed this one. Thank you.

[@orangejjay]

I just got back into photography and cinematography again and have been kicking myself because i can't think of anything to try and photograph ... never did I think to shoot bugs. 😂 Thanks for putting this out there. I can't wait to try some insect photography. And I'll remember all these. Looking forward to your next videos!

[@foto-spective]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful. I hope you enjoy the bugs. 👍

[@mossgatherer_]

Lovely video :)

[@foto-spective]

Thank You 🙏

[@davidwoods1337]

I started on a 6D also! (I only upgraded this week actually) Great video, good list of beginner mistakes.

[@foto-spective]

Thank you! 6D still is a great camera. Seems to hold its value better than some other older cameras.

[@2EmptynestersHomestead]

Thank you for this, I have been doing insect macro here lately. My husband actually calls me the Bug Lady. I don't have a camera, so all my photos are taken with my phone.

[@foto-spective]

Glad you enjoyed it. I have seen some incredible macros with a phone. Some of those mobile phone attachable lenses work very well.

[@joncothranphotography9375]

Great video and great advice! Thanks! Are you in North Florida or South Georgia? The coastal vegetation is beutiful!

[@foto-spective]

Thank you! I'm located in Central Florida. Agree with you 💯%. The vegetation is beautiful. You also don't have to drive very far to find yourself in swamps, cleaner marshlands, prairies, or even woodlands.

[@joncothranphotography9375]

@@foto-spective Did you ever get any photos of the Florida bears? I was truly taken by surprise to see bear crossing signs near Mexico Beach.

[@foto-spective]

@@joncothranphotography9375 Unfortunately no. I was born and raised here and have never seen a Florida black bear. I've been to many areas that have regular sightings and nothing. What I have seen is their footprints. Mostly in Ocala National Forest. Spotting and photographing one is certainly on the bucket list.

[@jacsbill1981]

Great video. Thanks! Which diffuser are you using? Seems a lot less bulky than most I see. Also, what’s the song at the end of the video? Love the guys voice.

[@foto-spective]

Thanks for watching. 👍 The diffuser is from youtube.com/@Makify1 channel. He gives a link to templates for making it. Here is his video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6vLpn59ZtuMfKcsi=1bEllwJh1eEJBjmB I'll look up the song and get back to you. 😎

[@foto-spective]

The song is "Waking up to Another Day, by Ten Towers" and it is a great song.

[@jacsbill1981]

Cheers 😊

[@sureshkumar-gu9vu]

Great video!

[@foto-spective]

Many Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@adragonphotography]

Great vid and some great advice. Having tried to take (and failed mostly) a few macro shots i was interested in what you said about the settings you used and will try them next time im out.

[@foto-spective]

Glad you enjoyed it. Insect macro is definitely a game of patience. I hope you get some great shots.

[@jwho369]

Brand new to this and greatly appreciated your video. Liked and subscribed!

[@foto-spective]

So glad to hear you liked it and I appreciate the subscribe. Hope you enjoy my future content.

[@amaimani]

Great episode and you got a new subscribed photographer now. ❤

[@foto-spective]

Glad you enjoyed it and Thank you!

[@KC-in9px]

​@@foto-spectiveWhat part of Florida do you live in? Would you be interested in arranging a photo walk? Are you in a Florida photography club?

[@foto-spective]

@@KC-in9px I'm in Central Florida. I would love going on photo walks and/or being part of some photography groups. Unfortunately, I don't have the time. My six children are my priority and even finding the time for these videos has proven difficult. Hopefully as they get older, I'll find myself with more time for this wonderful hobby.

[@KC-in9px]

@@foto-spective Good Lord, six children would finish me. I'm retired in SW Florida. I have nothing but time. I'm wanting to get going in photography. I've bought too much gear but have failed to launch.

[@foto-spective]

@@KC-in9px 🤣 They are certainly more than a handful. Matter of fact they are usually with me when I do these videos. If I was retired, you would definitely find me at some preserve everyday photographing wildlife.

[@stevenmccaughan2752]

I own the Sony A7R4 the camera I use is the Sony A6400 95 present of my my images are seen at 2 megapixels I have three generations of the Nikon 50mm macro lens and I find that I get the best image out of the oldest manual focus lens

[@foto-spective]

I've been looking into a lot of older manual focus lenses. Not just for macro but also longer telephoto lenses for wildlife. I really feel people underestimate the capabilities of vintage lenses.

[@erikjohnson4876]

I just went camping at Kissimmee Prairie to catch the Persied meteor shower. Your landscape looks similar. Are you near the middle of the state? Near the state park?

[@foto-spective]

Yes, in this video I was walking the edge of the Kissimmee River very close to Kissimmee Prairie. I've thought of going out there and trying astro photography for the first time. How were the mosquitoes?

[@erikjohnson4876]

We encountered no mosquitos. But there were the vicious no-seeums. They were biting me like mad. Though I don't like to use DEET, it worked like a charm the second I put it on. I did try a few astro shots with an old Sony A6000 and got passable photos. Nothing spectacular, and nothing as technical as focus stacking. For my eyes, the sunset was almost as impressive as the meteors. I'll likely return someday after I've practiced astro a little more at home. Orlando is not that far away. @@foto-spective

[@foto-spective]

@@erikjohnson4876 Surprised to hear the mosquitoes were not bad. At least the deet worked for the seeums. Definitely a location on my bucket list. 👍

[@zarrir]

First mistake: Leave no geckos near the site

[@foto-spective]

Don't follow what you meant by that.

[@scotskinner4350]

Take plenty of photos. I had to make 400 images of a bee on a wildflower before I got one I liked.

[@foto-spective]

Definitely an accurate tip. I can easily take 400-1000 photos of one subject just to get 1 or 2 shots that are worth keeping. Thank you for sharing that.

[@jameswiggle]

Those damn anoles are everywhere lol

[@foto-spective]

🤣 They certainly are. The newly hatched juveniles ( in picture ) make for great macro practice.

[@jameswiggle]

@motivatedoutdoors does your area have those new lizards with the blue body and red head?

[@jameswiggle]

@motivatedoutdoors yep..the best time is night time when they are inactive and resting on leaves or the thinnest part of a branch

[@foto-spective]

@@jameswiggle Yes, they are mostly at rivers with rocky banks or rocky boat docks. My kids go crazy chasing them.

[@zarrir]

Mistake number one: Leave a gecko (insect eaters) on the site

[@foto-spective]

Oh yeah, I can see how that would be a problem. 👍

[@karlgunterwunsch1950]

If you spook the insects then you don't have the necessary field skills yet. You need to learn what reflexes the insects have, unlike urban myths which tie the quick departure of insects to a distance there isn't a fixed distance but rather a certain kind of movement that will trigger the flight response. If you approach the insect slowly and then set your tripod down at about 20-40cm distance without sideways movement (from the perspective of the subject) and make the final approach for the composition with a macro rail you will get shots that are impossible to get. Your biggest mistake though is the use of a flash. That is a surefire way to ruin the images. Don't fret and the tripod will enable you to use shutter speeds of between half a second and 1/50th of a second. Image stabilisation is useless. Where you are correct though is that you don't need (nor want) focus stacking. It doesn't help, it's highly detrimental to the image quality - as focus stacking includes getting a lot of artefacts which are unavoidable and which eventually (when you find out where to look for them) will make you look differently at the stacks - and delete them.

[@foto-spective]

I would only agree to a point. One certainly does learn skills to better approach insects with practice. Where I don't agree is limiting yourself to tripod and focusing rail. The equipment used and method are relative to what each individual is after. If you prefer the images from one method then use that method. Like many things though, there is more than one way of doing it.

[@karlgunterwunsch1950]

@@foto-spective Flash photography is a thing of the past, when documentary images were needed to determine the kind of insect or for a guide book. Today the drawbacks of unnatural reflections from the eyes, the hair, the antennae, the chitin shell and in some cases even the cell walls of for example orchids make flash a poor choice. One thing I have also observed (15-20 years ago when I started with macro photography which is my main area of photography still) is that you often get false colours due to the fact that some of these in insects are tied to iridescence which is dependent on the angle of incidence of the light and with flash you always have two directions of light contributing, if not more... The tripod and focusing rail give you a much better, far more natural result in the end as you then have at least one hand free to make use of a diffusor.

[@foto-spective]

@@karlgunterwunsch1950 I completely agree with getting false colors. Certainly something to think about if using a flash. The highlights often left by flashes doesn't really bother me. I imagine many hobbyists would not be bothered by it either. Whether taking images for business or hobby will likely have a big impact on the methods used by an individual photographer. I've done a tripod with a macro rail, handheld with flash, and handheld natural light. Tripod and rail will produce most professional and accurate images. Handheld with flash is for me the most enjoyable method. That's completely personal preference.

[@karlgunterwunsch1950]

@@foto-spective My point is that both methods should find themselves in videos like yours which are directed at newbies in the field - else they may get false impressions. I am just a hobbyist who has wasted a lot of money on flash guns but never found any setup that brought me any enjoyment - at least not in daytime. At night I photographed Salamanders and there is a local occurrence of them where about 1 in 1000 doesn't produce the black color pigment, for those I had to use flash but it has been 15 years since I have been looking for them - because I dislike the use of flash so much that it doesn't bring me any enjoyment, at best it is a necessary evil.

[@backside6193]

If you use a proper diffuser like a cygnustech diffuser then having a flash is a huge asset, but it really comes down to proper diffusion.