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BITTEN BY THE MACRO BUG: GETTING STARTED

Quick Guide
Written by Lynne Guenther

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 It’s hot, the sun is beating on your face,
sweat is rolling into your eyes, did you
just swallow a gnat? Probably, as well as
some other small creatures, or at least
inhaled a few.

If you want great photos of insects you

must go where they live, and it can be a
bit unpleasant at times. Photographing
insects in their natural environment
and under natural light is the easiest
and cheapest way to get started. Since
shooting macro usually requires manual
focus and settings, it’s better not to
overwhelm yourself or your pocketbook
with advanced techniques before
deciding if you have the patience and
stamina for “shutterbugging,” pun
intended. ;)

Photograph by Lynne Guenther

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 In this article (the first in a series of 10 on insect It’s not cross-fit, but...
photography), we’ll discuss the attributes, skills, and
equipment needed for insect photography, including: Mentally, you’ll need to be ok with the idea that you
may take 200 photographs to get one that you’re
·· mental and physical requirements, proud enough to share, AND it took four hours. Not
·· access to insects and ideal conditions, only will you need patience to interact with insects,
·· what to wear/what not to wear, but also an ability to pass the mannequin challenge
·· required camera skills, while 15,000 mosquitos feast on you. Did I mention
·· basic gear (more advanced gear will be that you’ll probably be squatting for the majority of
discussed in future articles), and the time? It helps to be a Zen master and have good
·· basic editing abilities (more advanced editing knees!
will be discussed in future articles).
I know, I know, I’m not making this sound very
appealing, but once you find an insect you’ve never
Recommended Reading: If you’d like to
seen, or maybe just never really looked at closely,
improve your composition skills for better
you’ll be hooked. And don’t worry, future articles in
images, grab a copy of Photzy’s best-selling
this series will outline capturing bugs and lighting
premium guide: Understanding Composition.
indoor studio sessions for those “allergic” to the
conditions described above.

Good news: Although I HATE, HATE, HATE

sweating, mosquitos, and squats, I barely notice
any of these things while in the zone. Better news:
Once you’ve got some practice, you can get four or
five amazing images in 45-60 minutes. Best news:
Unlike landscapes, you don’t have to go very far to
recompose or find another subject.

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 Photograph by Lynne Guenther

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 IDEAL CONDITIONS

Unless you have a home garden, you’ll

be trekking to your nearest wooded area,
preferably one with a stream, on a warm
and windless day. Macro requires narrow
apertures due to extreme closeness to
the subject, so light must be replaced via
shutter speed (SS) or ISO. Slow shutter
speeds are preferable to avoid high-ISO
and noisy images lacking sharp clarity, so
windy days make it nearly impossible to
get crispy sharpness.

You don’t necessarily have to go far. In

the U.S. many urban areas have wooded
public parks, and suburbanites generally
have an area within their own subdivision
set aside for conservation. Just look for
trees and a small moving water source.

Photograph by Lynne Guenther

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 Unfortunately, this is also the ideal location for You’ll need to approach the general area quietly,
mosquitos, which is why many insects make it their slowly, and softly to avoid crunching twigs under
home. Spiders, dragonflies, and many others feed your feet. You should research where specifically to
on mosquitos and their larvae. Here’s the killer: hunt based on the insect you are looking to snap.
you shouldn’t wear bug spray. The smell can Dragonflies, for example, are usually close to water
drive away ALL insects. So also avoid perfumes/ and perched on the tips of tall sticks, reeds, or
colognes, strong smelling soaps, deodorants, occasionally sitting on a leaf. The monarch caterpillar
lotions, aftershave, and sunscreen. is only found on the milkweed plant. In a case like
this, it’s a good idea to look up the distinctive purple
Ok, brace yourself, snakes also enjoy this type of flowering plant.
ecosystem. Luckily, I’ve only ever seen one and it
was non-poisonous and slithered away into the water There are some insects that don’t require wooded
the second it saw me. Also, familiarize yourself with areas, such as bees, butterflies, and katydid nymphs
poison ivy and oak characteristics as they can be which can all be found pretty much anywhere that
present in this environment. This fact along with my flowers live. Certain insects like the cucumber
anti-bug spray/sunscreen policy means jeans and beetle prefer vegetables; although I have also found
sneakers make more sense than shorts and flip flops. them in my own bushes. Make sure not to waste
Look for odorless or low odor sunscreen for your any opportunities. Some bugs you might consider
face and arms if you burn easily, but you’ll likely find common or pests can still make great subjects even
yourself in shade much of the time (being under a on your patio furniture, like the wasp in the cover
canopy of trees). I’d also suggest a sweatband to photo.
keep the burning eyes at bay.

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 Regardless of the specific area outdoors,
it’s usually best to look in the shade to
avoid harsh, uneven lighting without the
need to carry a diffuser, unless it’s overcast,
which makes for a wonderful natural diffuser,
particularly in the case of insects such as
dragonflies, which are most active at mid-day.
I would suggest starting with dragonflies
because they almost always return to the
same perch, so if your subject flies away it will
more than likely return in just a few seconds.
This perch behavior allows for a slower shutter
speed which is very beneficial since macro
comes with lighting and depth of field deficits.
The image on the next page has a shutter
speed of 1/250 on an 85mm prime lens with
zero evidence of motion blur.

Key Lessons: Look for moving

water and trees on warm, bright,
windless days. Overcast is great, but
shade suffices if it is sunny. Most
Photograph by Lynne Guenther
insects are most active and easiest to
find at mid-day. Minimize smells and
sounds. Protect yourself from the sun,
other wildlife, and poisonous plants
like poison ivy. Research insect
behavior.

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 CAMERA SKILLS

Macro requires narrow apertures (high f

stop) to compensate for depth of field
loss as you get closer to the subject,
which causes every microscopic particle
on your lens and sensor to show in the
image. It’s important to start with clean
gear (or you’ll spend a lot of time with the
spot brush in photoshop).

Additional light is lost with the use of

extension tubes. However, due to their
magnifying capabilities, they are a
necessity for every macro photographer,
even with a dedicated macro lens. So,
what do these light limitations mean for
exposure?

You’ll want to shoot at the slowest

shutter speed possible, so wind is out
of the question and manual mode is
a must. There are no perfect settings,
but I’d recommend starting at a shutter
speed twice the reciprocal length of your
lens (1/200 for a 100mm lens) and f8 for
shorter lenses/wide open for long lenses.
From there you can adjust the aperture as
Photograph by Lynne Guenther

Image taken at 1/250 SS on 85mm lens without motion blur. A

rare sight, as dragonflies generally prefer sticks to leaves.

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 needed and increase shutter speed if camera shake The fastest way to focus in macro is not by using the
or motion blur is present. ISO is chosen after the ring to control manual focus, but rather your camera
necessary aperture and SS have been determined. position, or even body position. I like to choose
the manual focus setting first, frequently the closest
Of course, the above settings are for cooperative possible focus, then lean my body in slowly until
sitters. You’d be surprised at how many you’ll find the area is in focus. I rock back and forth as needed.
who don’t give you a hard time. If you’re going for an Focus peaking is helpful if it’s available on your
insect in flight, or while feeding or being active, you’ll camera.
need a much faster SS – anywhere between 1000
and 3000 depending on the speed of the particular
Key Lessons: Macro work requires
insect. At this point, ISO must be increased and may
understanding of the exposure triangle,
result in some noise. Noise obscures details and
manual settings, manual focus, and
generally makes the image look less sharp. Many
understanding your camera’s modes and
insects have details that measure only 10 pixels, so
features. Clean your lens and sensor.
you can see how four pixels of noise would make the
details less sharp.
Recommended Reading: If you’d like to
You’ll also need to be familiar with continuous or improve your composition skills for better
burst mode. Turn your camera to silent shooting images, grab a copy of Photzy’s best-selling
and electronic curtain if it has these features and premium guide: Understanding Composition.
prepare to use back button focus when possible.
You should definitely turn off the “focus with
shutter” feature. I’ve found back-button focus to
work well with my Sony a7iii when using a 300mm
lens with extension tubes for larger insects. Almost
every other case will require manual focus, sort of.

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 BASIC EQUIPMENT

It is definitely not necessary to buy a

macro lens. I have two but use standard
lenses with inexpensive adaptations
just as often. Here are the two best and
cheapest products to adapt a standard
lens to macro: the extension tube and
the reverse mount, both illustrated in the
photo on the left. Variations of the reverse
mount using two lenses for increased
magnification are very effective but
much more difficult to use; therefore, this
technique and others will be discussed in
an article dedicated to equipment.

Photograph by Lynne Guenther

Two extension tubes in yellow, reverse mount ring in red, back side of lens in blue.

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 An extension tube is a spacer that goes
between the camera body and the lens.
It shortens the focal length of the
lens allowing you to get closer to the
subject by increasing the distance
between the sensor and lens. They
come in versions that can “talk” to the
camera and “dumb” versions that require
you to set your aperture before adding
the tubes. This means that it requires a
lot of work to change apertures unless
your lens has an aperture ring (unlikely in
newer basic equipment). For this reason,
I suggest getting extension tubes with
autofocus abilities. They start at $30 for
two of different sizes. I find a total of
26mm is sufficient for most situations.

Photograph by Lynne Guenther

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 The other option is the reverse mount. This is a very The biggest upsides of extension tubes are that one
inexpensive, yet unintelligent piece of plastic that set will work with all your lenses and the camera
allows you to mount your lens to the camera body in body, allowing for fast aperture changes and lens
reverse. Why? The lens is designed to make bigger swapping. Another more controllable aspect is
life-sized objects appear on a small sensor, effectively that extension tubes can be stacked. You can use a
“shrinking” the scene. So, by reversing the lens, it 10mm, 16mm, 36mm, or stack them to get 26mn or
makes small things bigger. This is a great option to 52mm. The more extension tubes, the closer you can
use with a light inexpensive prime wide-angle lens get, and the bigger the subject is in frame. However,
like a 28mm, if you own one. the depth of field will get very shallow. In some
cases, f22 will only get 1mm or 2mm into focus. This
Both have unique advantages. By using a reverse is true regardless of the technique used. Extension
mount on a small prime lens, you preserve light in tubes are easier to work with when getting started, in
two ways. First, you haven’t increased the distance my opinion.
to the sensor so there is no additional loss like with
extension tubes. Second, the overall length is shorter
Key Lessons: “Smart” extension tubes are
allowing for slower SS when handholding. However,
my preferred method of converting lenses for
reverse mounts are attached using filter threads
macro. Depth of field is much shallower per
and, unfortunately, the sizes vary from lens to lens
the f stop as you get closer to the subject.
meaning you’ll need one for each lens. Also, this
connection cannot communicate with the camera
body, so changing aperture is no easy task.

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 BASIC POST-PROCESSING

I know the idea of post-processing is scary for some you can take the shot and pull up the shadows and
and you may prefer allowing the camera to process whites in post-processing. That being said, details
your image as a jpeg, but even when shooting jpeg, and colors will not be properly captured if you are
macro requires a little more love and care. Because way off, but this is helpful for shots that were properly
macro generally requires a narrower aperture, macro set up just before a cloud rolled by as you snapped.
images are going to have dust spots that need to
be removed. Not only are spots present on the lens, Auto ISO, you say? With macro, the light meter
but also dust and fibers can be seen on the subject rarely provides an accurate description of the
(top image on the next page). Luckily, this is as scene. Insects are usually in more shadow than the
simple as clicking on the spots with a healing brush surroundings, and it’s frequently the shadow of the
in most editing suites. lens (yes, most great bug portraits are taken with
the lens just a few inches from the insect). The meter
You may be a fan of the in-camera crop, but that’s a will see the scene as a whole unless the mode is
difficult thing to control when first starting out. Until changed. We will discuss this option in depth in
you’re familiar with your new extension-tube-enhanced a future article as well as lighting the subject, but
focal lengths, you’re unlikely to fill the frame at first. for now I would suggest using live view to adjust
Composition can be difficult as well due to the short exposure for the subject. Or if you really want to use
duration that the subject is available and still. Learning auto ISO and standard metering, use the exposure
to crop for composition will greatly enhance the final compensation dial.
image, as shown on the next page (bottom image).
Learning to free rotate can have a huge impact
As your skills improve, time will seem to slow down, on composition, as our example image illustrates.
allowing you to compose in-camera; however, I’ll give step-by-step instructions for editing in
shooting in raw and basic editing is still advised. Photoshop in the last article or two. Finally, the
Imagine a lively butterfly stops briefly but your ISO manual sharpening of compound eyes, hairs, and
is a couple of stops low; you can take the time to other details make for a much more impressive
increase your ISO but you might miss the shot, or final image.

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 Key Lessons: Post-processing
in the basic sense is a requirement
to polish the fine details in macro
imagery and improve composition.
Auto ISO is frequently inaccurate.
Learn metering modes or use
manual ISO control instead.

Recommended Reading: If you’d

like to improve your composition
skills for better images, grab a copy
of Photzy’s best-selling premium
guide: Understanding Composition.

Photograph by Lynne Guenther

Cover photo original compared to final edit. Notice the crop,

free rotation, removal of fibers, and sharpening.

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 CONCLUSION

Macro insect photography can seem overwhelming Most insects don’t see us unless we move, smell,
at first, but with some practice it is very rewarding. or make a noise.
After mastering settings, modes, and manual
controls, you’ll be back to consciously thinking about Photographing insects requires:
composition and creativity faster than you think. ·· a suitable environment;
Eventually, two minutes with an insect will feel like ·· patience and stamina;
an hour. Achieving a distance of two inches for two ·· knowledge of insect behavior;
minutes is less difficult than expected once you learn ·· knowledge of health and safety risks;
to move slowly. ·· complete understanding of the exposure
triangle;
·· complete understanding of your camera, its
features, and manual control;
·· complete understanding of how depth of field
relates to the distances between the sensor and
subject, and the subject and background;
·· complete understanding of focal lengths and
the reduction caused by adding extension
tubes;
·· hardware to convert a standard lens;
·· steady hands; and
·· basic post-processing skills like spot removal,
free rotation, increasing brightness without
introducing heavy noise, and sharpening.

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 Self-Check Quiz: Assignment:

1) Should you shoot insects from above, 1) Shoot an insect from below, above, and
below, or at their eye level? at its level.

2) Where can you find a diverse population 2) If you have a short and long lens, or a
of insects most easily? zoom lens, shoot an insect at different
focal lengths and notice both your
3) What do you need to protect yourself distance from the subject and the
against for health reasons? resulting depth of field.
4) Which weather condition is least ideal: a 3) Take any existing image you own and
sunny day, windy day, or overcast day? use free rotation and content-aware fill
5) Which camera features should you turn cropping to enhance its composition.
on/off?

6) Which component of the exposure

triangle should be adjusted last?

7) Which macro hardware solution reduces

light?

8) Why is depth of field less shallow in

macro?

9) What will noise do to macro details?

10) What should be the final post-

processing step?

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Congratulations! You’ve completed
this Photzy guide!

If you liked this photography tutorial,

check out this premium composition
guide to help you better compose
images: Understanding Composition.

Dallas native Lynne Guenther is an internationally exhibited

fine art nature photographer specializing in macro
photography. She is an unapologetic champion of editing
as a valid means of storytelling, and has been published in
Dodho magazine; exhibited in Amsterdam, Venice, Berlin,
and Dallas; and has earned recognition by jurors such as
Carl Buchberg, retired senior curator at MoMA.

Lynne’s greatest passion is for the creation and appreciation IF YOU’D LIKE TO CONTINUE
of art. Lynne and her husband are active patrons of living LEARNING AND IMPROVING
regional artists. They have been recognized as prominent
donors by the Dallas Museum of Art. Lynne loves YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY PLEASE
learning and continues her education in life, art history, VISIT PHOTZY.COM
contemporary art, and all aspects of aesthetic expression.

Website: www.lynneguenther.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lynneguenther
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