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26.01.09
Photographing butterflies
Words by John Devries
Butterflies make wonderful subjects all summer long – but they are also one of the most difficult as they are often very active and usually fly off just as you are coming into range. Prepare to have your patience stretched to the limit!
My first tip is to try early mornings and evenings when conditions are cooler and the butterflies are less active, although it’s much harder to find them at these times and light levels are lower. If you’re lucky you may find a newly-emerged specimen, an insect resting up or a mating couple. Just occasionally, you will find a highly tolerant individual who doesn’t mind having its picture taken – when you get one of these, make the most of it!
To find your butterfly in the first place, search the Wildlife Trust or Butterfly Conservation websites – they often give details of sites. Please respect your subject though – many butterflies are becoming increasingly rare, ensure that you don’t harm them or their habitat as a result of your photography.
Ideally, you either want a butterfly to have its wings wide open for the upper side or closed for the underside. Annoyingly, a lot of species like to bask with their wings at an angle of 45° – which demands huge depth-of-field, a luxury you don’t have in close-up photography, and doesn’t look good. The only answer is to move on or patiently wait for it to open up fully. Some species such as the clouded yellow and grayling frustratingly never seem to land with their wings open at all.
Always try to get the camera’s back in the same plane as the wings of the butterfly. The easiest subjects to start with are ones with their wings closed like the common blue. You can then use a wide aperture without the wings blurring at the tips.
When working in real close-up, depth-of-field is minimal and nothing looks worse than out-of-focus antennae or wingtips. You may need an aperture of f/16 in order to keep both sets of antennae sharp and this may only be possible in bright sunshine or in totally still, windless conditions.
One way to get a higher shutter speed is to increase the ISO setting, but then you get more noise. I rarely shoot above ISO 200 to retain maximum quality. However, modern digital SLRs are getting extremely good at producing minimal noise at high speeds. It’s better to get a slightly grainy picture than a blurred one due to camera shake.
Depth-of-field extends further behind the subject than it does in front of it in a ratio of 1/3 in front, 2/3 behind. So focus just slightly in front of your subject. Switch to manual focus for close-ups as autofocus usually tries to focus on the wrong thing or searches and you miss the shot.
Remember that the viewfinder shows the scene with the lens set to its widest aperture, so the image that you capture will not be the same as what you saw in the viewfinder if you set a smaller aperture. So you will need to take this into consideration. Use the depth-of-field preview button, if your camera has one – and if your subject allows you the luxury of time to do that.
When using flash as the only light source, the fall-off in output behind the subject usually creates black backgrounds. If this is your intention – fine, but if not, you will get the best results if the subject is close to the background such as when it is on a large leaf. You can use an additional flashgun to light the background, but this adds more cost and complexity.
Although I always use a tripod or monopod when using available light, it’s not essential when using flash as the only light source, the duration of the flash, is extremely brief – even at small apertures. This is a big benefit and is the reason that many photographers like to use a flash set-up for butterflies.
Watch the exposure when taking a picture of a spot-lit butterfly against a really dark background such as woodland as the meter will be fooled into overexposure. If you are shooting digital – check the image’s histogram to make sure you’ve not clipped the shadows or highlights.
Lastly, a couple of pieces of non-photographic advice. Like any branch of nature photography, it’s worth getting to know your subject. For example, some species such as the purple emperor, red admiral and comma will come to the ground to feed on dung or rotting fruit, so you could try luring insects by putting down some bait. Also, be fussy and ensure that your subject is a mint specimen. Butterflies get their scales worn off after a few days and even a great picture of a tatty specimen is pretty worthless.
Finally, be prepared to have infinite patience and work hard; nobody said butterfly shooting was going to be easy!
For more of John’s work, visit ophrysphotography.co.uk
KIT BAG
For the best results use a macro lens but if you’re on a budget, good results are possible with a telephoto fitted with an extension tube or close-up lens to enable closer focusing.
Using a DSLR with an APS size sensor such as the Canon EOS 40D or Nikon D300 gives the benefit of a magnification factor, 1.6x with the Canon and 1.5x with the Nikon. Compared with a film camera or DSLR with a full-frame sensor, you’ll get the same-sized image in the viewfinder but at a greater working distance, so you are less likely to scare the subject.
My current favourite set-up is a 180mm macro plus 1.4x extender on my Canon EOS 20D used in conjunction with a monopod. This set-up offers a generous working distance, excellent sharpness and minimal light loss despite the converter, and the monopod is lighter, quicker to use and much less cumbersome than a tripod.
TECHNIQUE
Experiment using fill-in flash to lighten shadows on a dull day or if the subject is lit partially or totally from behind. You can use the camera’s small integral flash, a separate unit fixed on the hot-shoe or have the flash off the camera on a bracket and connected with a suitable cord. A dedicated cord will preserve all the camera/flash auto functions. Many experienced insect shooters will have a more complex, two flash set-up.
On an SLR getting the exposure right is simple as the camera does the work. I’d suggest exposing for the background and underexposing the flash by around 1.5 f/stops for a subtle effect. Do this by setting the flashgun to underexpose or use the flash exposure compensation.
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