Macro advice

Scottie68

Scottie68

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Hi. Looking through the macro section today, ive seen a lot of pics taken of flies etc. They are so close that the detail of their eyes etc are amazing and i was wondering if someone could give me some tips on how to get so close and get the shot. Do you set the shooting mode to continueous and fire off lots of shots? Im guessing that these are also hand held shots, as to set up a tripod would surely scare that darn fly away!

Im using a Nikon D700 with 105mm macro lens, also have extention tubes if needed. But everytime i try to get close, off they fly!!

Any tips on Macro photography would be very useful, thanks
 
Really close macro is an art in itself. Everything goes against you.

A ring flash makes a huge difference - gets some decent light in there, short flash duration freezes movement (especially camera shake which is magnified) and keeps the f/number up for workable deepth of field. Marumi is cheapest and gets good rep.

Standard practise with flies and stuff is to stick them in the freezer for a bit! And patience is a great virtue.
 
Thanks for the tips Richard. Ive got the Nikon flash ring, but trying to get it close is even harder than without one on!

So im guessing most of the fly shots are not what they seem, ie, catch them, put them in the freezer before placing them on a flower or leaf etc?
 
Scottie68 said:
Thanks for the tips Richard. Ive got the Nikon flash ring, but trying to get it close is even harder than without one on!

So im guessing most of the fly shots are not what they seem, ie, catch them, put them in the freezer before placing them on a flower or leaf etc?
Click to expand...

Then maybe you need a longer macro lens. They're not so good for super-close macro, but often easier for subjects down to 1:1. Macro is just not easy though ;)

If you look into almost any aspect of wildlife photography, especially professional work, it is rife with questionable practise and often downright cheating. It's a major problem.
 
One of the most important things is to avoid shadowing the fly. They are very sensitive to abrupt changes in light, and moving your shadow over them will often make them fly.

Pick a still day, and wait till the clouds go in. The best days are when it's sunny with cloudy patches. The heat brings the insects out, but they tend to be less active when the sun is in. This is particularly true for bees.
Then it's just a matter of trial and error until you get one that will let you close enough for a shot. Personally I don't like ring flash. It tends to produce very harsh highlights and you can't diffuse it. I use a flash gun on a bracket with a softbox, and for really close stuff a small 'tent' of foam paper attached to the front of the lens, which really improves the quality of the light.
Another good way of doing it is to go out very early in the morning. This has a couple of advantages. The insects aren't active yet, they'll let you get very close and the light is excellent. Some of the best macro's I've seen are taken very early in the morning with a tripod and natural light.

Personally I never catch my subjects and put them in the freezer. Takes all the fun out of chasing them.
 
Thanks for the great reply adam, will surely give your early morning tip a try!
 
You should have a look at the work of a guy called Brian Valantine, his work blows me away.

He is local to me and I was lucky enough to be invited around one afternoon last year to take some photos.

Amazingly he shoots 99% of his work from his garden.

LINKY
 
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