(See a transcript below)

Photographing Insects Part 1 - Things to thing about Intro

Several people recently have asked me to share how I get good photos of insects.

One time I was visiting Nepenthe, a restaurant in Big Sur overlooking the ocean. I asked the waiter, ‘Have you seen whales?’ To which he responded, ‘Oh yes, I was in Hawaii last summer and saw the most amazing humpbacked whales.’ I smiled and said, ‘That must have been awesome’. After he left, I turned to my husband and said, ‘I should have been more specific; will I see whales today?’

So, when people ask how I get good photos and what equipment I use, I think what they really want to know is how can they get better photos?

Things to think about

The gear and techniques you use will depend on many questions. You have to ask yourself about what you want to accomplish.  All of these answers will guide you to what equipment you want to use and techniques you will employ.

What is your objective? Pretty pictures or scientific accuracy? Shooting a scene?  Shooting true macro? Extreme closeup? Or just wandering outdoors and capturing what you see for your own memory, and/or maybe to share?

How much time do you want to, or are willing to, spend in the field, studio, and behind the computer?

I know some people who truly enjoy all the details of the equipment itself, knowing settings, having the right flash, lens, tripod – the right tool for the right job. Some people enjoy tinkering.  They enjoy playing with settings and may be creating their own makeshift solutions, such as building their own sets for the insects, or making their own flash diffusers.

I have a friend who enjoys shooting ‘true’ macro photography where there are ‘rules’ defining what qualifies or not. He enjoys the enthusiasm and the precision of meeting the rules.

I've known some people who enjoy ‘creating’ images, not just ‘taking’ images.   They will move an insect to a different plant to make a better picture. Some will create settings in a studio. Others will alter images in Photoshop or other editing tools to create the image they want.

Yet others who consider it sacrilege even to break a blade of grass to give a better view.  Some people never want to touch an image, preferring to have an image straight out of the camera.

I think all of these are fine as long as it suits you, and you represent it for what it is. From the web, the definition of rule is ‘one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere’. You can follow the rules of others, but really you make your own rules for your own purposes.

This is how I answer it for myself. I like to be outdoors looking at things. The lens gives me focused attention. If it is something new or just something I'm trying to see, I shoot first before it gets away for documentation purposes. But then I shoot again and again, to try to get better pictures.

For me, the camera is a tool to capture what I see. I don't worry about definitions of macro and don't claim to shoot macro per say, although I will sometimes use a macro lens.

My goal is to capture images of insects and spiders that are pleasing to me. They are particularly pleasing to me if they show some interesting behavior or concept in a natural setting.

I'm comfortable with technology. I don't mind spending some time at the computer, but that's not where I want all my time spent. I do, however, spend a fair amount of time with post-processing and uploading to iNaturalist and my own website.

With that in mind, in the next part, I will share my gear and, more importantly, how I use it. Warning, the next section gets a little technical. Some of this may apply to you and give you some tips to try, or reaffirm what you already know. Remember, your results may vary.