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06/24/2008 08:11:40 PM · #1
I am going to start doing photos of bugs. Like bees and grasshoppers and others creatures. Does anyone have any tips for me. Is it a good idea to use a tripod?
06/24/2008 08:15:03 PM · #2
a tripod or monopod will certainly give you sharper pics. fast shutter speeds will help, upping the ISO will help with achieve that if light is low
06/24/2008 08:25:12 PM · #3
Use apertures between f/8 and f/16 to increase DoF. You will find that at wider apertures, DoF is *really* skinny. if that's what you desire, no problema, but usually we want to maximize DoF.
When shooting at these apertures, it's often difficult or even impossible to use only natural light. A flash and bounce card *really* helps. I often use a flash (580EX) on a short off-camera cord hand-held off to the side. The flash has a diffuser card (Lumiquest) attached to provide more diffuse illumination.
Good luck, you've embarked on a challenging but rewarding area of photography!
06/24/2008 08:25:28 PM · #4
Tripod ok...but...when I do macros of bugs I need to be free of the pod. You'll see that close-ups in nature require freedom.

Also...the technique I use is to get the focus as close as I can and then "rock" back and forth to "find your perfect focus" on your bug. This is hard to do with a tripod but a monopod would be very helpful.

Originally posted by thundercatcher2003:

I am going to start doing photos of bugs. Like bees and grasshoppers and others creatures. Does anyone have any tips for me. Is it a good idea to use a tripod?

06/24/2008 09:03:29 PM · #5
Catch the bugs with a small net. Have a bucket on hand with a net cover. Take bug home to your "studio" along with props (leaves, twigs, pebbles etc). Set up scene in, say, an open ended white box or black box. Place bugs in fridge for a short while to slow them down. Place bug in scene and then photograph using tripod.... Why wait for the bug to pose when you can pose the bug?
06/24/2008 09:46:15 PM · #6
I was thinking of buying this lens , Sigma AF 150mm Macro F2.8 EX DG (EOS)

Would that be good for bug photography? Im not sure what 150mm means?
06/24/2008 10:01:59 PM · #7
Originally posted by thundercatcher2003:

I was thinking of buying this lens , Sigma AF 150mm Macro F2.8 EX DG (EOS)

Would that be good for bug photography? Im not sure what 150mm means?


Hi , I have this lens and use it a lot for macro photos - great lens. I also have the nikkor 105mm VR AF-s &
I can say that the Sigma is very competitive. I kept the sigma 150mm , because it gives me a longer working distance and that helps a lot when photographing sensitive bugs.

Also you should check out the images taken with this lens on this site. Just go to Equipment & navigate from there.
06/24/2008 10:06:42 PM · #8
Start with your 60mm macro. It will get you the exact same magnification as the Sigma 150mm, you'll just need to be a little closer. Save your money unless you really *know* what, if anything, you'll gain by adding the 150.
06/24/2008 10:15:04 PM · #9
i don't know the price differences but the canon 100mm macro is fantastic
06/24/2008 10:37:24 PM · #10
Another inexpensive way to get macro is to use an extension ring between the camera and the lens you are using. I shoot macro with several prime lenses from 28 to 300mm and a good monopod. The monopod that I use is a Giottos, and it has 3 rods with it that can be used for several different configurations for different situations. I usually shoot with one of the rods screwed into the monopod just below the camera mount, and put the rod against my neck or shoulder, which greatly reduces the side to side motion.
You may be surprised how little motion or breeze it takes to make sharp, existing light, outdoor macro very difficult.
My fav combinations for lenses are manual 55mm f2.8 micro nikkor alone or with 11mm ext ring. Manual 180mm f2.8 with 11 or 27mm ext ring, and the weird set up, a Vivitar macro focusing 2X telextender and 16mm f2.8 Fisheye Nikkor.
The first set up is great for flowers, the second for bugs, and the last rig can focus right to the face of the lens, with the lens touching the subject, and with a wide looking view.
Macro is a ton of fun, and it will pull you thru those times when there is nothing that looks worth shooting. Just get into macro mode, and think small, and you can find good subjects almost anywhere. If you are going to be looking for macro targets outside, it helps to slow down or stop for a few minutes and look carefully at everything that you can see from one spot.
eta, You can get an idea of how extension rings work by looking thru your viewfinder while holding the lens off the camera and about 1/4 inch or so out from the camera. You can also reverse a normal lens and just hold it on the camera mount to look thru it to see how that looks. Canon lenses may stop down to minimum aperture when you do that though. I know that the older FD series lenses were that way.

Message edited by author 2008-06-24 22:44:08.
06/24/2008 10:39:53 PM · #11
Hi,

I have been doing some macro photography recently and learned a bit. As I have been using a non autofocus lens and $9 extension tubes, I have been struggling with focus when I am up close, with or without my extension tubes. In the past few days I just developed a technique for getting the focus right.

I simply turn on the auto focus, which I had been trying to do without because my lens was not an auto focus lens. I turned on the auto focus which prevents a shot being taken until the subject is in focus. So, I just push the shutter and move the camera and/or focus ring until the camera fires. This is extraordinarily tricky with magnifications approaching 1:1 which even at small apertures can be shorter than a gnat's ass.

You are right about bugs... they tend to move, but it is a real shame to kill one just to get a shot, but I expect that is what happens often.

Hope this helps a little.
06/24/2008 10:59:37 PM · #12
Originally posted by pineapple:

Catch the bugs with a small net. Have a bucket on hand with a net cover. Take bug home to your "studio" along with props (leaves, twigs, pebbles etc). Set up scene in, say, an open ended white box or black box. Place bugs in fridge for a short while to slow them down. Place bug in scene and then photograph using tripod.... Why wait for the bug to pose when you can pose the bug?


The best advice on the thread so far...
06/24/2008 11:08:43 PM · #13
Originally posted by DrAchoo:


The best advice on the thread so far...


Somehow I expected that this would be your advice. :)

None the less, I think the next macro challenge should be "Gnats' Ass)
06/25/2008 12:31:44 AM · #14
Originally posted by fir3bird:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:


The best advice on the thread so far...


Somehow I expected that this would be your advice. :)

None the less, I think the next macro challenge should be "Gnats' Ass)


Poof, Wish granted!


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