Bright, colorful, alien-like
dragonflies and damselflies are some of the most unusual creatures you
or I are likely to come across. Moving at seemingly impossible speeds
and always seeming to be on the go, these insects can be a challenge to
even the most experienced photographer, but there are ways to increase
your chances of getting the wall perfect shot. Hopefully, here, you will
gain a much better understanding of how you could achieve these shots
yourself.
Equipment
While
you won’t need hugely expensive gear to get an OK shot of one of these
flying monsters, if you follow my tips a point and shoot will get you
something, however the best photographs will be achieved with decent
kit.
With
that said, the better your kit the more it will allow you to get
photos. An SLR will allow you more control but it will be your lens
choice that will be most debated. There are two schools of thought. The
first–and the one I currently use–is to use a good macro lens, and get
in close to your subject, this requires patience and a fair bit of luck.
The other choice is to use a much longer lens (300-500mm) but use
extension tubes in order to reduce the minimum focal distance and allow
you to get frame filling pictures. This second option allows you to keep
at a distance, therefore you are less likely to spook the insect. If
you already have a long lens this can be a very cheap option, look for
extension tubes on Amazon, they really are cost effective.
While
using natural sunlight is preferred you may also find it useful to have
a decent flash unit as well. This will help make sure you get decent
fill light on your subject. A ring light is ideal for this in macro
photography, but any flash helps and using an extender will work well
with longer lenses.
Understanding
Once
you have your gear ready the first and most important step–which I
can’t emphasize enough–you must learn the subject. On your first attempt
at photographing dragonflies you are likely to fail if you have not
spent time watching them first.
Most
dragonflies, especially the bigger species, follow set feeding and
flight routes, or have favorite perches or hover points. If you study
them, and watch what they do and where they go, you will be able to set
yourself up in a position to photograph the dragonfly most often when it
is at rest. But, this technique will also help photograph the dragonfly
while in flight which can be a very difficult job. This is why knowing
your subject is vital.
Stealth
Photographing
dragonflies is like with all wildlife photography, it is advisable to
dress in drab colors. Insects are sensitive to ultraviolet light (UV)
and bright colors tend to reflect UV more.
The
best defense for a dragonfly comes in their ability to detect movement,
so in order to get close to a dragonfly it is vital to keep your
movements slow as a fast, jittery movement will put your subject to
flight. Move carefully and have your camera ready, it is no good
sneaking up on a resting dragonfly only to jerk your camera up at the
last second.
Composition
When
composing a dragonfly or damselfly photograph you need to think of a
few things prior to pressing the button; what is your photograph for?
Are you looking to achieve a photograph for identification purposes,
either for other people to use as an aide or to help you identify it
later on? If so, you need to make sure you are focusing on the salient
points, again knowing your subject matter will help you know how to
compose.
On
the other hand, if you are looking at aesthetically pleasing photos for
display purposes, you will likely want to change your composition
approach. Trying to keep backgrounds uncluttered and keeping the subject
on a level will make a much nicer picture. For damselflies this often
means getting down in their habitat (knee protectors of some kind can
help). For the larger species, you will likely be looking to photograph
them on an isolated post.
Depth of field
When
you are photographing small objects of any kind at a close distance you
will want to decide on how much of your subject is in focus. With
insects you will likely want as much as possible to be sharp, this will
require you to use small apertures and create a large depth of field.
Unfortunately, this will often make for lower shutter speeds, so
whilst stabilizing your camera becomes important, you may find you have
to compromise in order to get shutter speeds at a level that is
acceptable for freezing the subject. Unless you have great light and a
really good hand holding technique it’s advisable to use a tripod or
other support. This again may help dictate your composition since the
more perpendicular you are to the subject, the less likelihood there is
of finding out of focus areas.
Hopefully, with time, patience and practice you will be able to take some amazing images of dragonflies that really show off their lace-like wings and unusual features. I would certainly love to hear if the tips here help you to achieve this.
