Tips on taking macro photos of insects

Today we are sharing a video on how to take great insect macro photos. This video by PhotographyGuide will provide you with macro photography tips on what you need to consider when taking macro photos of insects.

Macro Photography Tip 1 – Tripod or No Tripod?

When taking photos of your macro subject, you need to consider how fast your macro subject will be moving. For fast moving insects, you should get your camera off the tripod so that you can easily chase down those insects. You will find that that if you were using a tripod, it will be more difficult to move around.

Macro Photography Tip 2 – Check your Background

We constantly talk about this in all our previous postings. In macro photography, the background is very important. Before you take that shot, check that there are no distractions in your background. Also be aware of the colors in your background. Shoot towards the sky if you want a blue background. If you want a green background you could place a big leaf behind your subject to achieve a nice natural green color background.

Macro Photography Tip 3 -Unique Perspective aka ‘Belly Photography’

Within the video, it was suggested that ‘Belly Photography’ is one of the best way of shooting macro photography. We can’t agree more! There’s no fun in macro photography if you don’t get down and dirty :). You know that you have had a great time when you get home and you find that you are wet and covered in dirt/mud. Belly photography is one of the best ways of taking photos in macro photography. First of all, it allows you to get closer to your subject. Secondly, you can get a unique perspective of your macro subject. Instead of shooting downwards onto your macro subject, try shooting upwards on your next macro photo – it will make a big difference…

Macro Photography Tip 4 – The Right Exposure

This is covered briefly in the video below, but please be aware that this is quite a big topic and really need to be covered separately. If you are interested in more in-depth information, you will be able to find some of our previous postings on how to set your shutter speed, aperture and ISO to ensure that you achieve a great exposure for your photo. For macro photography, it is important that you take a shot that is sharp. Without boring you with the theory from our previous posts, what this means is that you will need –

• Fast shutter speed to minimize any subject movement blur
• Spend time to ensure that you have your subject in focused. Generally when taking photos of insects, you want the eyes of the subject to be in focus.
• Use a fairly wide aperture setting to obtain a nice blurred background (shallow depth of field). If you need more light, don’t be afraid to open up to a wider aperture setting.
• If you do not want to sacrifice your depth of field by opening up your aperture, then consider adjusting your ISO settings. Be aware that this may make your photos grainy.

Enjoy the video below from PhotographyGuide –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHt3gcfnUsQIf you found this post on how to take macro photos of insects useful, please take some time to share this around with your family and friends. They will thank you for it!